Spain claims $500 million in sunken treasure

May 9th, 2008 in Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Spain claims $500 million in sunken treasure (AP)

Admiral Teodoro de Leste Contreras, who runs a naval museum owned by the ministry, speaks during a press conference in Madrid on Thursday, May 8, 2008. Spain laid formal claim Thursday to a shipwreck that yielded US$500 million (euros324 million) in treasure, saying it has proof the vessel is Spanish and demanding that a U.S. deep-sea exploration firm that recovered the booty give it all back. US lawyer James Goold, who represents the Spanish government, is seen in the background.(AP Photo/ Kote Rodrigo, EFE)

(AP) -- Spain formally laid claim Thursday to a shipwreck that yielded a $500 million treasure, saying it has proof the vessel was Spanish.

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