Six weeks after de Guzman’s demise, the Busang gold dream was over for everybody, leaving buyers in despair.
Bre-X Minerals’ C$6bn valuation had been diminished to nothing.
An impartial report would verify there was no gold in any respect on the Busang web site. Rock samples relationship from 1995 to 1997 had been analysed and located to have been tampered with by means of a course of known as salting. Fragments of gold from one other supply had been sprinkled amongst rock samples through a saltshaker to falsify outcomes.
Virtually 30 years later, no-one has ever been held accountable for the rip-off.
Walsh maintained he knew nothing about it and died of a stroke in 1998. In 2007, a Canadian decide dominated that Felderhof had been unaware of the swindle and located him not responsible of insider buying and selling. The Dutch geologist died in 2019.
That brings us again to de Guzman. Had he taken his personal life to keep away from having to disclose that he had been the mastermind of the deceit?
His suicide notes increase considerations, says Wilton.
For the podcast, a cousin, as soon as eliminated, of Felderhof – Suzanne Felderhof – says he had expressed doubt over whether or not de Guzman might ever have written them.
The notes point out bodily illnesses which, she says, her relative had by no means heard him complain about.
Wilton says one other suicide observe was written to a Bre-X Minerals finance supervisor who de Guzman did not truly know. In it, one among de Guzman’s wives’ names had been spelt incorrectly.
Dr Benito Molino was a member of the Filipino investigative workforce employed by de Guzman’s household to look at the proof as soon as the post-mortem experiences had been launched.
Within the images of the physique discovered within the jungle, Molino says he noticed bruises on the neck and concluded de Guzman had died by strangulation.
“When he was useless, he should have been thrown out of the chopper within the jungle to make it seem he dedicated suicide,” Molino tells the podcast.
“In large crimes, there’ll all the time be a fall man, so we do not consider that the actual mastermind can be recognized.”
Or was the physique even that of de Guzman?
Primarily based on preliminary descriptions, it will seem the person had been useless for longer than 4 days – the time it took for the physique to be found – says forensic anthropologist, Dr Richard Taduran, who labored with Molino.
De Guzman’s spouse Genie additionally says the tooth had been intact on the physique that was discovered, and but her husband had false tooth. De Guzman’s dental data have by no means been launched by his household, says Wilton.