Belgian teen finds €9 million gold hoard during sewer work

An 18-year-old student, identified only as Kobe, unearthed a stash of gold coins, nuggets and bullion bars worth an estimated €9 million (₹85-99 crore) while digging trenches for a sewage system in Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde, Belgium. The discovery was made on Tuesday at the site of a former brewery, where the gold had been bricked into a cellar wall beneath a late-19th-century villa originally built for brewery owner Theophilus Van Assche.

Kobe and his colleagues immediately contacted police and notified social welfare organisation CAW, which is renovating the heritage-listed property. The gold has been moved to a secure facility in Brussels while authorities investigate its origins. Hanne Ollevier of the East Flanders public prosecutor's office told HLN that officials must first determine whether the bullion was stolen or linked to criminal activity.

Under Belgian law, finders must wait at least five years for potential owners to come forward. The construction company, CAW, and possible descendants of the Van Assche family could all stake a claim. Former Dendermonde mayor Piet Buyse told HLN he would not be surprised if the family had hidden gold on the property. Kobe said he and his colleagues hope to receive a finder's reward eventually.