Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
Demolition crew unearths €9m gold hoard bricked into cellar wall in Belgium. Credit: Lokale Politie Dendermonde
An 18-year-old thought he had spotted a scatter of €1 coins while laying a drainage pipe, until a gold nugget rolled out beside them. What his crew had actually found, sealed inside a vault built into a cellar wall in Belgium, turned out to be a hoard worth an estimated €9 million.
There is a gold nugget in the rubble
Workers from a local construction firm were carrying out groundworks on Tuesday August 11, laying a pipe for the sewerage system of a building on Van Langenhovestraat in Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde, East Flanders. One of the workers noticed coins scattered in the rubble when they removed part of the basement foundations. “At first, I thought they were €1 coins,” said Kobe, an 18-year-old student on the crew. We also found a nugget. Then we realized it was more. The first reaction of the crew was disbelief. Kobe stated, “We didn’t expect to find gold.”
As the digging continued, coins and bars were found.
Mario, the site manager, went to see what was causing all the fuss after workers yelled that they’d found gold. “I went over to take a look at it and I picked up the gold,” said Mario. “We continued to dig up more bars and coins. “Only then did we really realize what we had found.”
According to reports, the coins and ingots were sealed in a chest that was built into an underground vault. VRT. Mario described the discovery as “strange” after spending decades working on construction sites.
Why gold went straight to police
Both men say that despite the fact that many people may have believed they had just found a fortune, the thought of keeping the find was never serious to them, mainly because of its sheer size. Mario: “It would be nearly impossible to keep all the coins and bars.” “Besides that, that would be stealing.” Kobe accepted. “We briefly thought about keeping it. It’s just too much money. It might be possible if it was only a few hundred euros. “But nine million Euros, that’s just too much to hide.”
The site manager’s boss was notified, and then the building owner and police. Hanne Ollevier, East Flanders Public Prosecutor’s Office said that the gold was moved to a more secure location. “We are keeping it under surveillance because it is a huge amount,” said Hanne Ollevier. “We do not want anyone thinking about looking for the money.”
Credit: Lokale Politie Dendermonde
How a shelter for the homeless could inherit a fortune
The building belongs the Centrum Algemeen Welzijnswerk. This is a Flemish charitable organization that provides social services. converting the property into a reception centre for homeless people. Geert Hillsaert, CAW spokesperson, explained that the gold will be used for funding shelters, social services and more.
Hillaert explained that they would have to adhere to all relevant rules and laws. “I’m sure there are other things to consider from a tax perspective.” He said that the discovery could be related to fraud committed by the previous owner of the property.
Why a case can last for years
Ollevier stated that investigators now must establish how long the gold was hidden, if it is related to past criminal activities, and if a legitimate owner can been traced. Hillaert believes that any dispute will end up in a civil court due to the possibility of competing claims by descendants of the former owner and a finder’s fee requested by both the charity, and the construction firm.
The coins and bars are currently in a police safe while the investigation is ongoing. Kobe is hoping that there will be some sort of reward for him and his co-workers. Mario stated, “This is the first experience I’ve had in 33 years of working in construction.” I don’t believe it will happen again.
