In October 2025, thieves carried out a spectacular heist at the world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris, stealing jewelry worth more than €88 million.

A month later, a video began circulating online, allegedly produced by Ukraine's anti-corruption agency (NABU). It claimed that the missing jewels had been discovered in the home of a Ukrainian billionaire and former associate of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was recently implicated in a corruption scandal in Kyiv.

However, the report is fake. DW Fact check's investigation reveals the video is riddled with technical and factual inaccuracies.

Claim: An X user posted: "Stolen Louvre jewels found with Ukrainian billionaire...The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) latest raid turned up Marie-Louise's missing Louvre jewels among the belongings of Ukrainian billionaire Timur Mindich, described as a close associate of Volodymyr Zelensky." 

The video has gone viral across social media in various languages: English (2.4 million views), French (2.4 million views) and German (1.6 million views). It has also spread to Russian networks.

DW Fact check: False

When DW contacted NABU, a spokesperson responded within minutes: "The video is fake and a product of either pro-Kremlin propaganda or someone who wants to spread disinformation."

The first clue that the video is fake is the sound. Although the narration sounds American-English, its rhythm is unnatural. Mispronunciations of words like "Louvre," "euros" and the name "Volodymyr" stand out.

DW ran the audio through a Fraunhofer Instituteanalysis tool, which indicated a 71.3% likelihood the voiceover was AI-generated.

Viral doesn't show the Louvre necklace

DW's Fact check Team compared the necklace shown in the video with a verified photo of Empress Marie-Louise's emerald necklace, taken at the Louvre in January 2020.

The most obvious discrepancy is the large gold-colored clasp visible on the necklace in the video; the original has none.

Furthermore, the number and size of the stones do not match. The authentic necklace has 12 small round emeralds, five octagonal emeralds, five square emeralds, and ten drop-shaped pendants. The video version shows about 17 round stones and nine pendants, with more rounded shapes.

The number of diamond petals around the small round emeralds differs as well. The original has five petals around each small emerald; the fake has four.

Signs of AI manipulation

Some parts of the necklace also appear blurred and fused, indicating that the image may have been generated with or altered by using artificial intelligence.

While free detection tools were inconclusive, another image from the same video was flagged by Vera.ai detectorwithin the InVid Verification tool as AI-generated with 99% confidence. 

The viral video is fake. The Louvre jewels remain missing, and NABU has confirmed no connection to the alleged Ukrainian billionaire.

Edited by: Joscha Weber, Rachel Baig