An attempt to steal Banksy’s mural faces might leave the man in prison for 12 years.!

The leader of a group who attempted to steal one of seven Banksy artworks on buildings in war-torn Ukraine could face up to 12 years in prison.

On January 2nd, 2023, Ukrainian police announced in a statement that the suspects arrested a month before for removing a mural of a woman in a gas mask in Hostomel, a suburb of Kyiv, had attempted to steal an artwork worth over $245,000 (9 million Ukrainian hryvnias). Hostomel was the location of one of the initial battles between Ukraine and invading Russian forces.

While police did not reveal the identity of the suspected leader, only releasing a photograph with his face obscured, it is gazed to be Serhiy Dovhyi, an environmental activist based in Kyiv. Dovhyi claimed responsibility for the attempted theft of the New York Times last month. He stated to the Ukrainian news website Graty that he intended to auction off the Banksy artwork to purchase around 40 automobiles for the Ukrainian military.

Dovhyi said he was saving the work from the planned demolition of the building.

As stated by Graty, one day before Dovhyi came to remove the mural, the Hostomel local council had recorded it as a cultural cenotaph.

The alleged crime is, as per Ukrainian police, stealing assets on a large scale or by an organized gang, liable to be punished by a term of 7 to 12 years in prison.

Whenever any crime occurs, the motive for doing that crime becomes secondary. Initially, every one of us appeals to punish the suspect who has committed a crime.

Anyways legal systems of all the countries are strong enough, and they judge them accordingly. When any crime like robbery or stealing occurs, a Safety App like POTP can become your best friend.

With the facility of Live Recording, you can pass that information to the Monitoring Team for immediate action.