Workers renovating the basement of a former brewery in Belgium have stumbled across a remarkable cache of gold bars and coins concealed inside a wall, with the haul reportedly valued at around 39 million.
The discovery was made in Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde while workers were preparing the building for the installation of new sewer pipes.
An 18-year-old student named Kobe and a colleague were reportedly breaking through a basement wall when they encountered what initially appeared to be a collection of ordinary coins.
As work continued, however, they began uncovering gold bars, quickly realising that the hidden cache could be worth a fortune.
Gold Handed Over to Authorities
The pair were working for CAW Oost-Vlaanderen, a social welfare organisation operating in the region. Rather than attempting to remove the valuables themselves, they informed the organisation and contacted police.
Belgian authorities subsequently secured the gold and reportedly transferred it to a heavily guarded vault while investigators attempt to establish its provenance and legal ownership.
Exactly who concealed the treasure — and why it was hidden inside the brewery wall — remains unknown.
Some of the recovered gold bars reportedly bear dates from 1957 and 1961. Those dates have cast doubt on early speculation that the cache might have been hidden during the Second World War.
Geert Hillaert of CAW Oost-Vlaanderen said establishing who owns the gold could be a lengthy process, potentially taking years.
Could the Gold Be Linked to a Historic Robbery?
Investigators are reportedly examining whether the cache could have connections to major robberies carried out in Belgium over recent decades.
Among the cases attracting attention are the 2013 Brussels Airport diamond robbery, a 2011 robbery involving a gold shipment near Wetteren and the notorious 2003 Antwerp Diamond Centre heist.
The Antwerp robbery became one of the most famous jewellery thefts in modern history, with diamonds, gold and other valuables reportedly worth tens of millions stolen from secured vaults.
However, there is currently no confirmed evidence linking the newly discovered cache to any of these crimes.
The proximity of Antwerp to the discovery site has nevertheless added to speculation, particularly because some valuables stolen in historic robberies were never recovered.
Investigators will now attempt to trace markings, serial numbers and other identifying characteristics on the bars to determine where the gold originated and how it came to be concealed inside the building.
For now, what began as an ordinary basement renovation has left Belgian authorities with an unusual mystery: who hid a multimillion-value fortune behind the wall of a former brewery?
Sources : Zwiadowca Historii
