Aguttes auction house will not cancel sale of stolen Peter II decree

French auction house Aguttes will not cancel the deal on the sale of the original of the decree of Peter II stolen from the Russian State Military History Archive (RGVIA). This was announced on November 18 by Sophie Perrin, director of the Aguttes department of books, manuscripts and valuable documents.

"The Central Office for Combating Trafficking in Cultural Property has investigated us. He informed us that there are no grounds for canceling the sale and the case is closed," RIA Novosti quoted her as saying.

Stolen from RGVIA original decree of Peter II sold at the French auction Aguttes for more than € 3 thousand (318 thousand rubles) on October 29. The document is particularly rare and valuable, as Peter II, who stayed on the Russian throne for only three years, left few signed orders.

Later, on November 1, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the Russian Embassy in France is investigating the circumstances of the sale of the stolen document.