WHITE ARMY TREASURY

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXV, Issue 3372, 1 October 1931, Page 3

WHITE ARMY TREASURY

REVEALED BY POLES. Two Poles brought a curious case before a Court of the First Instance in Paris on July 6. The defendant is the Russian Soviet - Government, and the plaintiffs bring action to recover £360,000, which is said to represent a commission due to them for revealing to the Moscow authorities a treasure in gold worth £3,600,000. This treasure, they say, was concealed by the White Army near Kazan, at the mouth of the Volga, 430 miles east of Moscow, when that army was retreating before the Reds in November, 1917. Of the existence of the treasure there seems to be no doubt, for the records obtained by the Moscow authorities show that the amount in specie, principally gold, was withdrawn from the State Bank at Kazan just before the retreat of the White Army. Fortified with this information the international section of the O.G.P.U. tried for several years to discover some former member of the White Army who knew where the treasure was concealed. Three years ago, according to the story the plaintiffs told the court, the Soviet agents got in touch with Paris with them and another Pole, all former subjects of the Czar, and they agreed for safe conduct from Paris to Kazan and return and for 10 per cent, of the treasure to reveal its hiding place.

According to the story told in court, the three Poles, accompanied by two agents of the 0.G.P.U., reached Moscow in August, 1929, and in the following month set out for Kazan, escorted by a strong guard of Chekists. As soon as they reached Kazan, the Poles said, they realised that their lives were in danger and that i there was little chance at any rate of their receiving their commission after they had unearthed the treasure. In consequence, two of the party made a dash for liberty and got away. The third was arrested on his way through Moscow and nothing since had been heard of him. The two who had escaped were later arrested near the Finnish frontier, and entered into a new agreement with the authorities and so returned to Kazan and continued the search. When the Reds were "hot" enough to dispense with the services of their guides they told the latter that they could receive free transportation to Paris on condition that they renounced claim to any reward. The pair accepted the condition, but on reaching Paris took legal advice and then brought the present action.