Seventeen masterpieces – including works by Rubens, Mantegna and Tintoretto and valued at 17 million euros – were carefully wrapped up in Kyiv.

Ukraine’s President Poroshenko then formally handed them over to Italian officials. His country’s border guards retrieved the pictures in May, on a small island on the Dniester River during an attempt to smuggle them into Moldova.

We are thankful to the Government of Italy for the opportunity to show art masterpieces at Ukraine’s Khanenko Art Museum pic.twitter.com/C0MKABc9iZ

— The Bankova (@TheBankova) 21 dicembre 2016

Investigators in Ukraine have reportedly suggested that they were heading to a private collector in Russia – and that the gang involved members from Russia, Moldova and Ukraine.

The art works are now back in Verona – no longer in their original frames but with little more than scratches, according to one expert.

Ukraine conveyed 17 paintings of Italian artists saved by Ukrainian law enforcers and border guards to Italy https://t.co/jdMGjU7jYK

— Dario Franceschini (@dariofrance) 21 dicembre 2016

Italy is now planning a new law to combat the theft of the country’s heritage.

“There will be different types of crimes relating to the destruction and damage of cultural heritage. Then there will be a new stand-alone crime of the theft of cultural property – with very severe punishments,” said Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini.

Several people have been convicted in Italy since the paintings were stolen from the Castelvecchio Museum in November 2015.

They include a guard at the museum – sentenced to over 10 years in jail for armed robbery – and his twin brother. Their operation to steal the paintings involved a simulated attack on the museum.

Stolen paintings by Tintoretto, Mantegna and Rubens head back to Verona https://t.co/XPz2qgKuus pic.twitter.com/XrY1K12ZOp

— The Art Newspaper (@TheArtNewspaper) 22 dicembre 2016