A treasure hunter fights with the South African government for a prey of 60 tons of silver, valued at 43 million USD, saved from the seabed

A former British professional racing driver turned treasure hunter is in the middle a legal dispute with South Africa over a 60-ton silver treasure found on an old ship destroyed during World War II.

This Wednesday, a The UK Admiralty Court has ruled in favor of Ross Hyett’s ownership of the loot, secured at over $ 43 million, but the case has not yet come to an end.

As reported by time, the treasure corresponds to 2,364 silver bars that were allegedly purchased by the South African Mint for coinage in the 1940s, during World War II.

However, the ship they were traveling in, the SS Tilawa, was attacked by Japanese submarines on its voyage from the city of Bombay – the capital of India – to the coast of South Africa. After receiving two torpedo blows, the ship sank in the Indian Ocean in 1942, about 1,500 kilometers northeast of the Seychelles. There were 732 passengers on the ship.

Ross Hyett, who was dedicated to car racing in his youth, decided in 2012 to set up a treasure hunt company, Exploring silver, and is dedicated to extracting wealth sunk from the sea.

Two years after founding his company, Hyett found the location of the Tilawa wreck and in 2017 managed to extract his fortune from silver bullion.

The operation lasted six months and took place in strict secrecy. He entered the port of Oman so as not to arouse suspicion When he managed to collect the silver, he kept it on the bottom of the sea in a basket which he dragged into international waters to prevent its confiscation. To transport the prey to the United Kingdom, he avoided entering the Suez Canal, where Egyptian authorities could seize his treasure. On the contrary, he used an indirect route through all of Africa and through the Cape of Good Hope finally managed to transport the precious goods to Southampton (England).

What Hyatt didn’t know was that there was a treasure hunt company interested in SS Tilwa., American Odyssey Marine Exploration, which in 2016 contacted the South African government offering to extract the treasure from the wreck in exchange for 85% of the prey.

This company is known for lifting 17 tons of gold and silver from the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes in 2007, which sank off the coast of Cádiz, Spain. At that time there was a big international scandal involving several countries claiming the treasure. The dispute reached the point where the Spanish Civil Guard took control of the treasure-hunting ship, but the company had already managed to take the prey back to the United States and refused to reveal where it had hidden it.

But when he managed to reach an agreement with South Africa and went to the wreck site, he found that the transport was no longer there because Hyett had continued.

So, the South African authorities decided to take legal action and sued the company of the former 67-year-old racing driver, claiming that silver bullion was always destined to reach the South African Mint and therefore , owned by the South African government. That country.

But on December 16, the court in charge of the case agreed with Hyatt and said the bars were for commercial and non-governmental purposes and therefore South Africa’s claims are unfounded. Silver is likely to be forgotten until 2016, when the Odyssey informed the Republic of South Africa of its existence.Judge Nigel Teare suggested.

Hyatt is said to be in talks with South African authorities to reach an agreement on the possession of the treasury, however, it has already won a major legal dispute.

Argentum Exploration is no stranger to conflicts with countries over what needs to be extracted from the sea. Just a few years ago, to cite one example, he was in the middle of a dispute between Spain and Colombia over the transport of gold from the San José Galleon, which sank off the Colombian coast during the colonial period.

In this case, the restrictions of the Colombian government and the conditions of the Hyatt company have not yet allowed us to continue saving the submerged treasure that would be equivalent to about 70 million pesos.

KEEP READING

WHO recommends Europeans stay home for Christmas and avoid family reunions due to second wave of coronavirus

San Genaro’s blood did not liquefy and in Naples it is feared that the worst will happen … although for many the bad omen has already happened

Satellite images reveal Iran’s building another underground nuclear facility