Celtic Gold Trial: Final arguments before verdict on July 29th!

Celtic Gold Trial: Final arguments before verdict on July 29th!

Two years after the spectacular theft of a unique gold treasure from the Celtic Roman Museum in Manching near Ingolstadt, the public is about to receive a verdict in a trial that has heated up emotions. Today, July 17, 2025, the defense attorneys for the main defendant will give their closing speeches; The public prosecutor's office is demanding twelve years in prison for the 48-year-old man from Plate near Schwerin, who is considered the head of a suspected burglar gang. This gang is said to be responsible not only for the museum burglary, but also, according to the indictment, for at least 30 other burglaries in Germany and Austria.

In November 2022, 3.7 kilograms of gold as well as 483 valuable coins and a larger gold nugget were stolen in a sophisticated heist. The total value of the gold treasure is estimated at around 1.5 million euros. The mayor of Manching, Herbert Nerb, expressed the hope that the whereabouts of the missing coins would be clarified in the course of the trial. The defendants, who have been in custody since July 2023, have so far remained silent about the allegations and are now calling for acquittals after their defense lawyers criticized the charges as being “in a vacuum”.

The defense strategy

The defense lawyers question the prosecution's evidence. Defense attorney Klaus Wittmann argues that there is a lack of sufficient evidence, while his colleague Uwe Kunik sees no evidence of an organized gang of burglars. There are also reports that parts of the gold treasure were recovered after the theft, but not in their original form. An explosive twist in the case is that when a suspect from Berlin was arrested, 18 gold nuggets were discovered - possibly remnants of the gold loot that have since been melted down.

The public prosecutor's office is making serious allegations and is demanding prison sentences of between six and ten years for the other accused men, who also come from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin, such as the Nordkurier reported. The court spokesman has already scheduled 31 days of trial and the verdict is due to be announced on July 29th. This could represent a further step towards clarifying the whereabouts of the missing coins.

The background to the theft

The break-in into the museum only took nine minutes and required a high level of planning: the telecommunications network was deliberately destroyed in order to disable the alarm system. The police found burglary tools and DNA traces near the museum, but the robbers left few other clues. Mayor Nerb even speculates about a “deal” that could allow the loot to be returned in exchange for lighter penalties, drawing attention to the uncertain future of the missing coins.

Overall, the case not only causes excitement in the legal arena, but also raises questions about security standards in museums and art and antiques crime. The reporting on this case is also being followed by other media, such as NDR and MZ, which point out the difficulties of doing justice to everyone involved and bringing the truth to light.