Archive · 16 Aug 2026
18-Year-Old Finds Rs 98 Crore Gold Treasure in Belgian Sewer
An 18-year-old boy named Kobe was working at a summer job helping build a new sewer pipe in a town in Belgium.
While digging, he and his coworkers noticed something shiny in the ground.
At first, Kobe thought the items were just one-euro coins.
Then he saw a gold bar and realized it was much more than that.
They had found a hidden treasure worth about nine million euros — almost 98 crore rupees!
It was made of gold coins, nuggets, and numbered gold bars.
The treasure was tucked inside a bag that had been sealed inside an old brick wall under a big house.
The house was built in the 1800s for a brewery owner named Theophilus Van Assche.
Police took the treasure to a safe building in Brussels to figure out whose it is.
The workers could not keep it because it was so valuable, but Kobe hopes they might get a reward for their find.
An 18-year-old summer worker named Kobe unearthed gold bars, coins, and nuggets while excavating a sewer line in Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde, Belgium.
The find is estimated at around 9 million euros, or approximately Rs 98-99 crore.
The stash was hidden in a bag sealed inside a bricked-in cellar wall beneath the late 19th-century Brouwershuis villa, built for brewery owner Theophilus Van Assche.
Authorities secured the site and transferred the treasure to a secure facility in Brussels while investigating its origins.
Under Belgian law, finders must wait at least five years for rightful owners to come forward; possible claimants include the contractors, CAW Oost-Vlaanderen, and Van Assche descendants.
- Who
- Kobe, an 18-year-old summer worker, and his colleagues at a construction site in Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde, Belgium.
- What
- They uncovered a deliberately hidden stash of gold bars, coins, and nuggets worth an estimated 9 million euros (about Rs 98-99 crore) while replacing an underground sewer line.
- When
- The discovery was made on a Tuesday during standard underground pipe replacement work; the exact date was not reported.
- Where
- Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde, about 30 km northwest of Brussels, Belgium; the treasure was later moved to a secure facility in Brussels.
- Why
- The stash appears to have been deliberately concealed inside a bricked-in cellar wall beneath the 19th-century villa of brewery owner Theophilus Van Assche, and officials are investigating its origins to determine legal ownership.
Finders' Perspective
Claimants & Officials
Ownership of the treasure
Finders' Perspective
Kobe and his colleagues accept that such a large find had to be handed over, but they hope to receive some kind of finder's reward eventually.
Claimants & Officials
Authorities warn the case could spark a complex civil dispute, with potential claimants including the building contractors, the welfare organisation CAW Oost-Vlaanderen, and descendants of the Van Assche family.
Provenance of the gold
Finders' Perspective
The stash appears to have been deliberately concealed behind a wall, and Kobe described coming across it completely by surprise during routine work.
Claimants & Officials
The East Flanders prosecutor's office says investigators must first verify that the gold was not stolen or linked to crime before legal ownership can be determined.
- Estimated value
- 9 million euros (approx. Rs 98-99 crore)
- Finder
- Kobe, an 18-year-old summer worker
- Location
- Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde, about 30 km northwest of Brussels, Belgium
- Contents
- Gold coins, nuggets, and numbered bullion bars
- Hiding place
- Bag sealed in a bricked-in cellar wall beneath the late 19th-century villa
- Villa's original owner
- Brewery owner Theophilus Van Assche (brewing on site from 1899 to 1970)
- Current redeveloper
- Social welfare organisation CAW Oost-Vlaanderen
- Legal rule
- Belgian law requires waiting at least five years for rightful owners to claim the treasure
