Overview
- The hoard was discovered during sewer excavation on Aug. 11 at a property in Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde and contains about 49 numbered gold bars, a large quantity of coins and at least one nugget with an estimated value of roughly €9 million.
- Local police photographed and inventoried the items, removed the collection from the active demolition site and transferred it to a federal high-security vault while warning the public to stay away from the area.
- The East Flanders public prosecutor has opened an investigation to determine provenance and legal ownership, and officials say it is not yet known who the rightful owner is.
- Under Belgian civil law any legitimate owner has five years to claim hidden valuables and, if no claimant appears and no criminal link is found, the find may be divided between the finder and the property owner.
- The property is owned by CAW Oost-Vlaanderen and the discoverers immediately alerted authorities; local historians have suggested a possible link to a former brewing family but that origin remains unverified and will be a focus of the probe.