According to Nave, specialists began negotiations with a representative of the criminals through several encrypted chats and received information that they indeed had some of the stolen items.
The criminals, he said, were on the run and eager to quickly dispose of the stolen goods.
CGI Group passed all the collected data to the client of the investigation, who, in turn, forwarded it to the Louvre. However, as Nave noted, the museum delayed its response, which led to the breakdown of negotiations.
“We lost the trust of the kidnappers, and the Louvre missed the opportunity to recover the jewels. Unfortunately, ego and indecision were the reasons for this,” he emphasized.
Additionally, Nave pointed out that several months before the theft, he had warned in an interview with the Italian publication Il Tempo about rumors in the dark web discussing plans to rob the Louvre, including the possible theft of the painting "Mona Lisa".
Nevertheless, the Louvre denied the information about negotiations with CGI Group and stated that there was no direct contact with the company. At the same time, CGI representatives claim that communication was conducted through an Italian subsidiary, presumably working on behalf of the insurance company associated with the museum.
According to the investigation, the robbery occurred on October 19 during the daytime. The criminals used a retractable ladder from a stolen truck to gain access to the museum and pried open a window with special equipment.
During their escape, the criminals dropped a crown adorned with diamonds and emeralds but managed to steal eight other exhibits, including an emerald-diamond necklace that Napoleon gifted to his wife, Empress Marie-Louise.
On October 26, it became known that two suspects had been detained. According to Le Figaro, one of them is a 34-year-old Algerian with previous convictions for theft and traffic violations, while the other is a 39-year-old illegal taxi driver and courier, also connected to the theft case.
On October 30, the Paris prosecutor's office reported the detention of five more people in Paris and the suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis. Prosecutor Lauri Becco noted that the stolen jewels had not yet been found.
