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LONDON - Authorities in Spain are looking into whether the US company involved in excavating colonial-era treasure from a sunken British ship can be charged with stealing Spanish heritage.
The Florida-based treasure-hunting company, Odyssey Marine Exploration, announced its discovery of gold and silver - worth an estimated £250 million ($675 million) - on Saturday, but refused to reveal the exact whereabouts of the wreck.
They said the coins were found in international waters. But the Spanish Government has said it thought the statement was "suspicious" after Odyssey sought permission to explore Spanish waters for the wreck of a British ship in January. The company said it was searching for HMS Sussex, which sank in 1694 near Gibraltar.
However, permission was only granted for exploration and did not extend to extraction, Spain said.
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