A Japanese construction worker has unearthed a plastic treasure box stuffed with 50-million yen (about R3,2-million), police said on Monday.
The 43-year-old found the small box 20cm under the soil as he flattened a vacant lot with an excavator on Saturday in central Aichi prefecture.
The box contained 50 bundles of one million yen, all in 10 000-yen notes, a police spokesperson said.
”They were bundled with a specific bank’s money bands, so this will be one of the clues to verify the owner if someone claims the money,” the spokesperson said.
It is unknown why the money was buried under the lot. Police said a house previously stood on the land and they are trying to track down who lived there.
If the owner of the cash is confirmed, the construction worker will have the rights to seek up to 20% — or 10-million yen — in negotiations, the police spokesperson said.
But if no one claims the money, it will be split evenly between the worker and the landowner, meaning the man who stumbled upon it will be 25-million yen richer. — Sapa-AFP