Isak Robbers Instructed to Pay Just £1 Per Person from £1.2 Million Thefts
Members of an Italy-based family of burglars who stole more than £1.2 million worth of items, including from ex- Newcastle United forward Isak, have been ordered to return just £1 each.
Brothers Valentino and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela and her son Charlie travelled to the northeastern of England to raid multiple homes in April 2024.
The group of four were imprisoned for from a decade or less in 2025.
At a proceeds of crime hearing at the court, Jela and the Nikolov brothers were ordered to repay £1 each while Charlie Jovanovic must pay over a thousand pounds.
Details of the Burglaries
The court previously heard the gang came by ferry in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2024 and employed a campervan as their "headquarters", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham rest stops while using a separate vehicle to search for targets and carry out burglaries.
On March 31 they took more than £1m of goods such as designer clothing, purses, jewellery and a CBE medal from a house on a street in Jesmond, while the residents were on holiday.
The next evening, the crew entered a home on a private road in Whitburn, and stole designer handbags, jewellery and shoes valued at more than one hundred thousand pounds.
Following surveillance of the football club's training ground for 48 hours, they then acted at the residence of Sweden striker Alexander Isak in Darras Hall on April 4, stealing ten thousand pounds in money, £68,000 worth of jewelry and the striker's one hundred twenty thousand pound Audi RS6.
The group, who were described by the prosecution as professional itinerant burglars, wore gloves and face coverings, turned their mobile devices on silent as they neared their targets and attached a license plate, which had been stolen from a garage in a town, on to their car with rubber straps.
They were apprehended in the Birmingham on 13 April.
Legal Proceedings and Rulings
Valentino Nikolov had denied conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by jurors, while his three relations had all entered admissions to the same charge.
At the proceeds of crime session, prosecutor the prosecution said every one of the burglars had profited from their offenses to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the affected parties said they had lost.
But Charlie Jovanovic was the only one found to have any funds that could be "recovered", namely over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by authorities, the judge heard, with 14 days to be spent in prison if he failed to pay.
The remaining members had no money or property so were directed to make a nominal fee of £1 each, with one week in prison the consequence if the money was not paid.
The judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with property in the coming years, "such as driving around Italy in a fast car or owning a property", prosecutors could initiate further action to "recover the amount outstanding".
