Former CEO of Shinil Group Affiliate Sentenced to Prison Again in Appeal Trial for 'Donskoi Ship Fraud' Case

Court: "No reason to change sentencing for conspiracy with main culprit in fraud..."

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] The former CEO of a Shinil Marine Technology affiliate (formerly Shinil Group), who was indicted for participating in an investment fraud scheme involving the Russian ship Donskoi, was sentenced to prison again in the appellate court.

On the 18th, the Seoul Southern District Court Criminal Appeals Division 2 (Presiding Judge Sun Eui-jong) announced that it dismissed both the appeal by Yoo Mo (66), former CEO of the 'Shinil Group Donskoi International Exchange,' and the prosecution's appeal, upholding the original sentence of 5 years imprisonment for Yoo.

Yoo was tried on charges of fraud for deceiving victims with the claim that "if the Donskoi, which sank near Ulleungdo during the Russo-Japanese War, is salvaged, it will generate profits of 150 trillion won," and embezzling about 9 billion won in investment funds together with five accomplices including the main perpetrator Ryu Seung-jin from April to July 2018.

They claimed that they were the first to discover the Donskoi, which sank during the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, and held the rights to it, asserting that the ship carried gold bars and treasures worth about 150 trillion won, promising enormous profits upon salvage.

However, the Donskoi had already been discovered in 2003 but had not been salvaged due to concerns over diplomatic friction and funding issues. The '150 trillion won in gold bars' was never confirmed.

They also advertised on their company website and in the media that purchasing their self-developed cryptocurrency 'Shinil Gold Coin' would entitle investors to dividends from the profits derived from the Donskoi.

However, this 'coin' was merely simple cyber money or points without applied cryptocurrency technology, and it lacked an electronic wallet system, making transactions like Bitcoin impossible from the start.

The appellate court ruled, "The defendant is judged to have conspired with Ryu Seung-jin and others to participate in this fraud," and added, "No new circumstances were found, and the original sentencing is neither too harsh nor too lenient."

Yoo claimed, "I only lent my bank account to attract investment funds necessary for the treasure ship salvage project and never conspired to sell Shinil Gold Coin," but this was not accepted.

Other accomplices in the case, including Ryu Mo (50), former CEO of Shinil Group and sister of Ryu Seung-jin, were consecutively sentenced to prison last year. However, the main perpetrator Ryu remains at large after leaving the country.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.