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The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam

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It was the biggest gold discovery in history... until it wasn’t. In 1995, Canadian mining company Bre-X announced to the world it had found a significant amount of gold deep in the jungles of Indonesia. Stock prices soared as investors worldwide fought to stake their claim. But when Bre-X’s chief geologist mysteriously fell from a helicopter over the jungle, the story of the billion dollar discovery began to unravel. Nearly three decades later, no one has ever been held accountable. Now, host Suzanne Wilton takes listeners from the jungles of Indonesia to small town Alberta, Canada, to investigate what really happened and find out more about the man behind the biggest goldmine fraud of all time. Produced for the BBC World Service and CBC by BBC Scotland Productions.Please note, this series contains references to suicide and has some graphic content.

3. The battle for Busang

The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam

  • 310 views
  • about 2 months ago
  • 46:31

As the value of the Indonesian gold discovery skyrockets, it’s not just everyday investors who want in. Major players are drawn into the fight for the gold in Busang. But Bre-X, a small company, has only ever traded as a penny stock. Can it stand up to powerful rivals and play in the big leagues?

2. The believers

The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam

  • 290 views
  • 2 months ago
  • 46:16

It’s gold fever. Estimates put the Bre-X discovery at four times the size of the biggest known gold deposit, and investors are trying to cash in. A small Canadian town is swept up in the gold rush. But others are asking questions, including a hedge fund manager who goes to extraordinary lengths to get inside the Indonesia gold site.Since this episode was recorded, John McBeth has sadly passed away. We are very grateful for his contribution to this story.

1. The fall

The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam

  • 310 views
  • 2 months ago
  • 41:28

Bre-X geologist Michael de Guzman is the man of the hour. He’s responsible for one of the biggest gold discoveries in the world, deep in the Indonesian jungle. It’s a find that sends Bre-X stock prices soaring to stratospheric heights. So his apparent death - a dramatic fall from a helicopter flying to the gold site - sends shockwaves around the world. Did he jump? Was he pushed? But the days following his death will prove even more shocking. Please note, this episode contains difficult subject matter, including references to suicide and death. The series has references to suicide and some graphic content.