A man who found 100,000 euros (£83,256) in Italian lira in his dead parents’ home is taking legal action after a bank refused to exchange it.
The 48-year-old man from Italy discovered the 205 million lira haul at his parents house in the city of Pescara after they died from COVID-19.
After finding the stash stowed inside a kitchen cupboard he contacted the Bank of Italy to exchange the money, made up of 50,000 and 100,000 lira notes.
But he was told it is no longer possible to do so because over 10 years have passed since the euro replaced the lira in 2002.
According to local newspaper Il Centro, the man contacted a law firm in Rome which specialises in issues around converting lira to euros.
The man wants to force the exchange via a conversion request submitted to the Ordinary Court of Rome.
His lawyer, Francesco Di Giovanni, is reported to have told local media his client hopes to raise awareness based on an article of a civil code.
He maintained the code establishes that the statute of limitations – in this case 10 years – actually begins from the time an individual exercises their right, which in this case would be from when his client found the money in 2024.
Banknotes and coins in lire ceased to be legal tender on February 28, 2002, as Italy adopted the euro.
A deadline for converting non-lapsed lira banknotes was set for February 28, 2012, though Italian legislators brought forward the deadline to December 6, 2011.
Italys’ Constitutional Court declared the legislation unlawful leading the country’s Ministry of Economy and Finance in 2016 to require anyone who wanted to exchange lira to provide evidence of applications which fell between the two dates.
The Bank of Italy has said it made 268 exchanges as a result, amounting to €2,709,518 (£2.25m at the current exchange rate).