Suspended prison sentence and joint fine of 200,000 euros for two “looters” of the Lava treasure

Europe 1 with AFP 11:26 a.m., March 27, 2024

Two “looters” who tried to sell a priceless gold dish from Roman antiquity from the Lava treasure, discovered in Corsica, were sentenced Wednesday in Marseille to suspended prison terms and a joint tax fine of 200,000 euros. Félix Biancamaria, 67 years old, considered the inventor of the treasure, and his friend and alleged accomplice, Jean-Michel Richaud, 68 years old, were found guilty by the court of "concealment" of misappropriation of wreckage and "detention without document regular proof of maritime cultural property" imported smuggled.

Sea urchin fishing and gold coins

In this case, a solid gold dish 25 cm in diameter, estimated to be worth several million euros, a known centerpiece of the Lava treasure, the first mentions of which date back to 1958. Félix Biancamaria, arrested in October 2010 in the Roissy station coming from Brussels, in possession of this document which Jean-Michel Richaud allegedly gave him, was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended. His accomplice received an 8-month suspended prison sentence. The tax fine of 200,000 euros concerns the customs infraction.

It was while fishing for sea urchins in 1985 in the Gulf of Lava, north of Ajaccio, that Félix Biancamaria discovered the first gold pieces of this treasure dating from the 3rd century, bearing the effigies of the emperors Gallienus, Claudius II, Quintille and Aurélien. He had already been sentenced in 1995 in this case, with his brother, to 18 months' suspended imprisonment and a fine for "diversion of a maritime wreck".

A treasure that belongs entirely... to the State

The Marseille criminal court ruled that the gold dish, which would come from the same treasure as these coins, had indeed been discovered on a seabed, during the year 1986, and not outside the water. A parameter which allows the court to retain the qualification of "diversion of a wreck in the legal sense, even if it is not possible to determine whether the dish came from the stranding or not of a wreck", argued the president.

If it had been proven that this treasure was initially on dry land, as Félix Biancamaria's defense had argued, its inventor would have been legally entitled to 50% of its value. But as it was considered damaged at sea, from a ship, it belongs entirely to the State. "The State continues to appropriate illegally expropriated property," Me Amale Kenbib, one of Félix Biancamaria's lawyers, told AFP, indicating that her client intended to appeal this conviction.