During the renovation of a building belonging to the CAW Oost-Vlaanderen social organization in the Belgian city of Sint-Gilles-Dendermonde, a worker found a gold safe in the basement wall of the building, estimated to be worth 9 million euros.
The initial estimated value of the find is around 9 million euros. The East Flanders public prosecutor's office is currently investigating to determine the provenance of the treasure and its rightful owner.
According to VRT NWS, the box found by the workers contained more than 40 numbered gold bars and over 4,000 ancient gold coins. The worker who found the box initially thought the coins were modern one-euro coins.
But the head of the team ordered all work to stop and contacted the police, who came to the site and took this treasure and transported it to a secure warehouse in Brussels.
The East Flanders public prosecutor's office is now trying to determine the origin and owner of the gold. Investigators are examining the serial numbers of the bars and conducting a forensic analysis of the coins. The legal status of the discovery has not yet been determined. The office is not ruling out the possibility that the valuables were hidden as part of illegal or fraudulent activity.
It should be noted that a local brewer lived in this building since 1900. However, investigators currently have no evidence linking him or any of the other former residents to the treasure.
According to the head of CAW Oost-Vlaanderen, if the authorities recognize the organization's ownership of this treasure, it will use all of its proceeds to expand its assistance to the homeless and street dwellers of East Flanders.
