Sofia Military Court of Appeals released the three man accused of tank stealing on 5000 leva bail each, Bulgarian news agency BTA said.

The court’s decision is final and cannot be appealed.

The three, major Aleksei Petrov and two German citizens, were detained for stealing a Maybach World War 2 tank, which had been located as firing points near the Bulgarian Turkish border. They were caught red handed, while trying to steal a second tank.

The tanks were not under permanent control and during the theft, Petrov was acting in his capacity of military official, Bulgarian news agency BTA said. According to the prosecution, Petrov involved a sergeant-major, who was under his command, in the crime.

The detained managed to transport the first stolen tank from Bulgaria to Germany, although Petrov told journalists that he had no idea how the tank left the country.

One of the detained German citizens told the court that he was working for a German museum and wanted the tank as exhibit, but it should have been given following official procedures. He admitted that he did not know Bulgarian legislation very well.