MOSCOW, November 26 (RAPSI) – Four Crimean museums have filed with a court in Amsterdam a class action lawsuit seeking to return the Scythian gold, which was  exhibited in the Netherlands, to Crimea, RIA Novosti reported Wednesday citing Director of Crimean Republican Institution “Kerch Historical and Cultural Reserve” Tatyana Umrikhina.

According to Umrikhina, the collection should be returned to the museums from which it was taken.

The exhibition “The Crimea: Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea” opened in Germany in mid-2013 and then moved to the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam in early February 2014. Artifacts from five Crimean museums include a ceremonial gold helmet and jewels.

In March, Kiev demanded the gold be returned to Ukraine, not Crimea, since the latter had voted for independence and later joined Russia. Crimea, however, dismissed the demands as groundless.

The Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam decided to keep the disputed collection of Scythian Gold items until the ownership dispute is resolved either amicably or in court.