Notorious 'Pink Panther' Jewel Thief Jailed in Monaco
Nicolai Ivanovic pleaded guilty in the Monaco court on Monday
Named after the 1960s cult comedy crime films, The Pink Panther, this group of Balkan jewel thieves have been responsible for some of the most audacious thefts in criminal history.
The gang first came to the attention of Interpol and earned the nickname "Pink Panthers" in 1993. They orchestrated the theft of a £500,000 diamond from a jewellers in Mayfair, London. The thieves hid the diamond in a jar containing face cream, mimicking an act seen in the film The Return of the Pink Panther. The gang members themselves then adopted the name, even wearing pink shirts for a subsequent raid in Zurich.
Known for their daring escapes and creative break in attempts, they have been behind some of the biggest jewellery heists on the Cote d'Azur. In 2005 they robbed a jewellery store in Saint-Tropez wearing floral patterned t-shirts and then made their escape 'James Bond' style in a speed boat. It is also suspected that they were behind the more recent theft in 2013 in Cannes, when a man wearing a ball cap and a scarf covering his face broke into the Carlton Hotel and made off with US$136 million worth of diamonds, gems, and jewellery that was being stored by the Leviev diamond house for an exhibition. The local newspaper, Nice-Matin, speculated that this may have been the most costly jewellery theft in history.
In this latest turn of events, the 42 year old from Montenegro, Nicolai Ivanovic has pleaded guilty for his part in holding up a Monaco jewellery shop in 2007. The thieves escaped with 32 Audemars Piguet luxury watches, as well as the watch of a footballer who was caught up in the heist. An estimated total of more than €460,000.
Ivanovic and another man were arrested in Paris nearly two years later, in May 2009. After pleading guilty the defendant insisted that he was working alone and in fact, that he had no knowledge of the Pink Panthers. “I don't know the Pink Panthers, that doesn't exist,” he told the court, “I don't have a boss.”
He was sentenced by the Monegasque court to six years in prison on Tuesday 12 January 2016.
