Russian artworks worth £35m to be returned despite border seizure

Russian artworks worth £35m to be returned despite border seizure

Finland’s foreign ministry has confirmed they will be sending Russian artworks back to Russia, Qazet.az reports.

Three shipments containing Russian paintings, statues and antiques were stopped by Finnish customs on Wednesday.

The artworks had been on loan from Russian museums in Italy and Japan, and were making their way back to Russia via Finland when they were seized.

Customs were looking to determine whether the items worth around $46m would be classed as luxury goods. If so, the shipments would have been subject to economic sanctions imposed on Russia due to the war.