Overview
- Construction workers drilling for new sewer pipes in a Dendermonde basement discovered coins and lingots of gold earlier this week and immediately notified police.
- Authorities inventoried the haul at roughly US$10.4 million (about €9 million) and moved the items to a federal high-security vault while the prosecutor investigates provenance and possible criminal links.
- The building is owned by CAW Oost-Vlaanderen; its director said he was surprised and said any funds awarded to the group could be used for local social services.
- Belgian law gives a legitimate owner five years to claim found treasure and, if no claimant appears and no crime is proven, civil rules can split the find between the finder(s) and the property owner.
- Police have sealed and searched the site, warned the public not to visit, and media coverage has focused on local curiosity and a historical theory that the stash could trace to a former wealthy family.