‘Treasure ship owner on radar of Interpol’
POLICE in Seoul requested an international arrest warrant for the founder of a Singaporebased firm on Thursday after launching an investigation into the company and a South Korean start-up over false claims of discovering a long-lost Russian “treasure ship”.
Seoul-based Shinil Group announced last month that it had discovered the wreckage of imperial vessel Dmitri Donskoi off South Korea’s east coast, saying the ship was believed to contain gold bullion and coins worth $130 billion.
But since then, the firm has faced questions about whether the announcement was aimed at artificially boosting share prices, or luring investors into buying a virtual currency which a Singaporean company – also named Shinil Group – had recently started to issue.
‘Red notice’
F i n a n c i a l r e g u l a t o r s announced a probe into the South Korean firm, while police launched a criminal investigation last week, saying that the founder of the Singaporean Shinil Group, surnamed Ryu, was also wanted in connection with fraud allegations dating back to 2014.
“He is the key figure in the suspected treasure ship scam,” a police official said on Thursday, adding that the authorities had asked Interpol to issue a so-called red notice for Ryu.
A red notice is a request to locate and arrest a person with a view to extradition.
Police have been hunting for Ryu since 2014, when he fled the country during a separate investigation. The official said that South Korean authorities believed Ryu was now living in Vietnam.
Following news of the financial probe, the CEO of the South Korean Shinil Group apologised last week, explaining that the firm may have gone overboard on the claims and saying that speculation on the value of treasure inside the ship was based on news reports and unverified documents.
Choi Yong-seok also insisted Shinil Group in Singapore had nothing to do with Shinil Group in South Korea, although the two companies’ founders are siblings, and the Singapore firm has been selling virtual coins, reportedly with a promise of handsome returns in case treasure is salvaged from the ship.
Experts have said imperial Russia would have no reason to load vast treasure on a ship that was going into battle and have also noted that there was a safer land route to Vladivostok, the treasure’s supposed final destination.