Three executives from a South Korean company have been jailed for lying that they found a long-lost sunken Russian warship filled with $133 billion worth of gold.
Seoul-based firm Shinil Group made the stunning announcement in July that it unearthed the Dmitrii Donskoi, which had been scuttled in 1905. The Russian Imperial Navy cruiser was long rumored to have sunk with a treasure trove of gold coins and gold bars.
More than $7 million poured in from investors — but Shinil’s story began to unravel, prompting a fraud investigation.
On Wednesday, a South Korean court ruled that Shinil’s claims of booty being aboard were bogus.
The group’s vice chairman, only identified by his last name Kim, was sentenced to five years behind bars, while the Shinil’s former head, identified as Ryu, and another accomplice received two- and four-year sentences, according to Yonhap News Agency.
“Their responsibility for the crime is very heavy, given the method and scale, as it’s a case where they swindled many unspecified people and took huge gains,” said Judge Choi Yeon-mi.
Shinil Group, which has since folded, was also accused of artificially boosting stock prices and enticing investors to buy into a new cryptocurrency it was developing.
The company issued a salvage claim on the wreck, initially claiming the gold was worth about $130 billion. But the stated amount of gold was actually worth about $7 billion — forcing Shinil to walk back the value to only $1 million.
The company also repeatedly promised to produce evidence of the cargo haul — but never did.
The 5,800-ton Dmitrii Donskoi was built in St. Petersburg and launched in 1883.
The ship was badly damaged in the Battle of Tshushima in May 1905 before it was rumored to be scuttled by its captain off the coast of the South Korean island of Ulleungdo so the Japanese couldn’t capture the gold.