Italy man unable to claim million-euro inheritance in old lire

A 51-year-old man named Stefano from Cuneo, Italy, has discovered a significant inheritance that he is currently unable to access. Upon inheriting the estate of his childless uncle, Stefano found a security safe containing two billion old Italian lire.

While the amount is valued at approximately one million euros, the Bank of Italy (Banca d'Italia) has rejected his request to convert the currency into euros. Because the Italian lira was replaced by the euro in 2002, the official window for exchanging the old banknotes has long since expired.

Stefano has retained legal counsel to challenge the freeze on the funds. His legal team intends to argue that the discovery of the money was recent and not due to negligence, seeking a special exception or compensation for the inheritance.