The costs for the Dutch State by the artok at the Drents Museum can “become an expensive joke”. Minister Eppo Bruins (culture) said that today after the Council of Ministers. If the stolen golden helmet and bracelets are not recovered, the Netherlands will pay for the costs.
It concerns an amount of 5.8 million euros. The only thing the Drents Museum has to pay is the deductible. It is not known how high that amount is.
Data in the hands of RTV Drenthe shows that the Dutch government guarantees just over 9 million. In the event of damage, theft or loss, the State is liable for this. Only when the amount of damage is higher than that 9 million does the museum insurance will come into play. The value of the four stolen objects, the golden helmet and three bracelets, does not exceed 9 million euros.
Minister Bruins, however, does not yet want to mention any amount. “How expensive the joke will be, that is still being investigated.” According to him, the insurance company is working on it.
Museums that are on loan artworks from abroad for a temporary exhibition can turn to the government to partly guarantee damage and theft. It ensures that the insurance policy in front of the museum can go down. In the case of the exhibition Dacia – Rich of silver and goldwhere the stolen Romanian objects were part of it, it is a discount of 26 to 30 percent for the Drents Museum. If the government does not guarantee, the costs for the museums can become too high to keep such exhibitions.
“The scheme is almost never used, but in this case it has consequences,” explains Bruins. Museums have been able to use this since 1989. Since then, the Dutch State paid out for 8,000 euros in damage. It concerns dozens of billions of euros that the Netherlands has already been responsible for.
Last year, thirteen museums made use of the scheme, with the Netherlands guarantee 461 million euros. In principle, the scheme does not cost the state any money, unless there is damage or theft. If the golden helmet and three golden bracelets are found damaged, the government must also pay that damage.
Three suspects are stuck for the robbery at the Drents Museum. The police are still looking for a fourth suspect, who was seen on camera images in a hardware store in Assen.