MADRID - Spain has launched legal proceedings against the head of a US company it suspects seized a massive haul of treasure from a sunken wreck in its territorial waters, a Spanish newspaper reported Tuesday. The court in the southern town of Linea de la Concepcion which is investigating the case would not confirm the report in the ABC newspaper.The paper said the judge in charge of the case has ordered the head of Odyssey Marine, Greg Stemm, to appear before him in late February to respond to accusations of destroying SpainÂ’s cultural heritage and of smuggling.
The dispute began in May when Odyssey announced that it had found half a million silver coins and hundreds of gold objects, somewhere in ‘international waters in the Atlantic Ocean’. It then flew its 17-tonne haul from the British territory of Gibraltar, off Spain’s southern tip, to its US headquarters in Florida.
| "Gold! Gold! It's mine! All mine! Mine! I'm rich! I'm socially secure!" |
Spanish police seized and searched two Odyssey Explorer vessels as they left Gibraltar in July and October, acting on the orders of a Spanish judge looking into the origin of the sunken treasure.
A judge in Florida last month ordered Odyssey to tell Spain the exact location of the wreck. The information will remain confidential to protect the interests of the company, which fears other treasure seekers may poach its find.