Isak Burglars Instructed to Pay Just £1 Per Person from £1.2 Million Heists
Individuals of an Italy-based family of thieves who stole over £1.2 million valued of goods, including from former Newcastle United forward Isak, have been ordered to return just £1 per person.
Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela and her son Charlie Jovanovic journeyed to the north-east of England to raid multiple homes in April 2024.
The group of four were imprisoned for between a decade or less in May 2025.
At a criminal assets proceeding at the court, Jela Jovanovic and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to repay £1 each while Charlie must pay £1,135.
Details of the Burglaries
The judge was told the group came by ferry in the UK on March 27, 2024 and used a RV as their "base of operations", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham service service stations while using a separate vehicle to search for targets and execute burglaries.
On March 31 they took over one million pounds of items such as designer clothing, handbags, jewellery and a CBE medal from a house on a street in Jesmond, while the owners were on holiday.
The following night, the crew broke into a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and took luxury bags, valuables and shoes valued at more than £100,000.
After scouting out the football club's facility for two days, they then struck at the residence of Sweden striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, taking ten thousand pounds in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewellery and the player's £120,000 Audi RS6.
The group, who were portrayed by the prosecution as professional itinerant burglars, wore hand coverings and face coverings, turned their mobile devices on silent as they approached their targets and attached a number plate, which had been stolen from a garage in a town, on to their car with rubber straps.
They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on 13 April.
Legal Proceedings and Rulings
Valentino had denied the burglary plot but was convicted by jurors, while his three relations had all submitted admissions to the same charge.
At the proceeds of crime hearing, prosecutor the prosecution said every one of the burglars had benefited from their crimes to the value of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the victims said they had lost.
But Charlie was the only one found to have any funds that could be "recovered", namely £1,135.50 which had previously been confiscated by authorities, the judge was informed, with two weeks to be spent in prison if he defaulted.
The other three had no assets or property so were directed to make a token amount of £1 per person, with one week in incarceration the result if the money was not paid.
The judge Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the future, "for example operating in Italy in a fast car or owning a home", prosecutors could initiate new proceedings to "recover the sum due".