The prospect of a lost Caravaggio, Rubens or treasure trove of gold bullion being unearthed in safety deposit boxes which have sat undisturbed in bank vaults for more than 200 years was raised at an Oireachtas Committee hearing on Wednesday morning. Many thousands of boxes, chests and paintings remain unclaimed in bank vaults with details of their owners lost in time, the Oireachtas Committee for Rural and Community Development inquiry heard. While banking legislation allows dormant accounts untouched for 15 years to be handed over to the State, there are no similar rules governing materials deposited in bank vaults. He highlighted as an “elephant in the room” the fact that many estates have been settled after receiving the wrong information from banks about accounts they held with some safety deposit ignored by officials for generations. Former Bank of Ireland official Jim Connolly said the contents of the vaults had ‘the potential to change history’.

Source: The Irish Times March 06, 2019 16:18 UTC