The Seoul police issued arrest warrants to two Shinil Group executives for falsely advertising that it found 100 trillion won worth of gold in the wreck of a Russian cruiser Dmitri Donskoi, which was allegedly sunken off South Korea’s East Coast in 1905..
The police agency said Shinil’s former vice chairman surnamed Kim, 51, and executive surnamed Huh, 57, were booked on charges of frauds. The police said their announcement that it found tons of gold in the sunken ship was a ploy to defraud investors by issuing its cryptocurrency.
The police have yet to announce how much the group mobilized cash from investors through its false advertisements. It advertised in July that investors could be guaranteed more than 100 times return when they buy its cryptocurrency Shinil Gold Coin, which it claimed would be listed on a Singapore exchange.
As the police investigation started, Shinil backed away and said the company was not related with the Shinil Gold Coin. Also, “the 150 trillion won worth of gold in inside the Donskoi” has long been talked about publicly even before Shinil made an advertisement,” it said.
The South Korean police have been talking with the Interpol to repatriate Ryu Sung-jin, former chairman of the Shinil Group, to South Korea from Vietnam. He is alleged to be the mastermind of the fraud scam, according to the police.
