National Art Museum to receive 149 paintings from Medvedchuk’s seized collection
1 August 2025 09:32
The National Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) has initiated the transfer of 149 seized works of art belonging to former MP Viktor Medvedchuk, a suspect in high treason, to the National Art Museum of Ukraine. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to the ARMA.
These are paintings, icons and other works that were recognized as objects of cultural value based on the results of the examination.
The collection includes works by the classics of the Transcarpathian school of painting, including Yosyp Bokshai, Havrylo Hluk, and Adalbert Erdeli. The expert evaluation of these works was carried out in 2024 by specialists of the National Art Museum at the initiative of ARMA.
The transfer became possible due to amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On ARMA”, which entered into force on July 30, 2025. From now on, the Agency has the right to transfer seized cultural heritage objects to state museums, libraries, reserves or archives without holding tenders – by decision of the Cabinet of Ministers.
The ARMA has already officially appealed to the government with a corresponding initiative, citing the new Article 21-1 of the law.
As a reminder, in April 2022, during criminal proceedings, the State Bureau of Investigation and the Security Service of Ukraine seized 264 paintings by Viktor Medvedchuk. By court order, they were transferred to the ARMA for sale.
on April 17, ARMA announced that it planned to put the paintings from Medvedchuk’s collection up for sale. At the same time, at the initiative of the National Agency for the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage of Ukraine , experts were engaged to conduct an art historical examination of the paintings .
Medvedchuk’s collection includes works by twentieth-century Transcarpathian artists, including Yosyp Bokshai, Havrylo Gluck, and Adalbert Erdeli, a landscape by painter Volodymyr Orlovsky, a painting by Ivan Aivazovsky, and icons made of amber and beads. Some of the paintings cost up to 50 thousand dollars.
Medvedchuk’s arrest
On April 12, 2022, Medvedchuk himself was arrested as a result of a special SBU operation. He is a defendant in several criminal cases of high treason and economic crimes.
on September 21, Viktor Medvedchuk was exchanged for Ukrainian soldiers held by Russia. As a result, 215 Ukrainian defenders were returned from captivity.
