A South Korean company that claimed to have found the wreck of a Russian warship holding $130 billion in gold said on Thursday it has not verified the existence of any gold. A financial watchdog said it was probing possible unlawful stock trading.
Shinil Marine said last week it had discovered the wreck of the Dmitrii Donskoi, a Russian armored cruiser sunk in 1905 after fighting Japanese warships off South Korea's Ulleung Island, and that a staggering 150 trillion won ($130 billion) of gold was on board.
However, the company backtracked on those claims on Thursday and apologized for having cited unverified news reports saying the ship held about 150 trillion won ($130 billion) worth of gold.