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Founder of Singapore-based firm under probe in Seoul

This article is more than 12 months old

SEOUL Police in Seoul requested an international arrest warrant for the founder of a Singapore-based firm yesterday 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 US$130 billion (S$177 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.

Financial regulators announced a probe into the South Korean firm, while police launched a criminal investigation last week, saying 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 yesterday, 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 provisionally arrest a person with a view to extradition.

Police have been hunting for Ryu since 2014, when he fled during a separate investigation.

APOLOGISED

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.

Mr 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 if treasure is salvaged from the ship. - AFP

COURT & CRIME