GLASGOW—Five men appeared in court in Glasgow last week, accused of demanding £4.25 million ($7.5 million) in exchange for the safe return of a Leonardo da Vinci painting, reports the Independent.

The work, The Madonna with the Yarnwinder, was taken from Scotland's Drumlanrig Castle in August 2003 in one of Britain's biggest art thefts.

The five men are accused of extortion and of attempting to defeat the ends of justice. The men allegedly contacted a loss adjuster they believed to be acting for the insurers of the painting, estimated at close to $60 million, between July and October last year and said that they could return the work within 72 hours if a total of £4.25 million was deposited in two bank accounts.

Four of the men pleaded not guilty to the offense; the fifth did not enter a plea.

The work, dated from between 1500 and 1510, belonged to the Duke of Buccleuch, who died last September at age 83, and had been in his family for two centuries. It has been returned to his son, the current duke.

The trial will continue on November 10.