HIDDEN MILLIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20508, 8 March 1930, Page 3 (Supplement)

HIDDEN MILLIONS.

TREASURE IN SIBERIA.

STORY OF REVOLUTION. '

, Somewhere in wildest Siberia', a gr#a§ treasure ' lies buried. It has' bean •in'-its secret hiding place since the days when Admiral Koltchak's " White " "••'"legiopa were retreating • along the Trans-Siberian railway before the armies of the Bolshevik revolution. . , 1 It is known that Admiral Koltchale had at his disposal a considerable pafft of, the gold reserve of the ;old Russia., For a while this was at Kazan, but,' was taken away from - there, : when the Reds advanced on the place. With it, it is believed, was also a v considerable amount of gold which formed part of tha "war chest" of the " Whites " forces, while many wealthy Russians had confided their priceless family jewels to the guardians of'this last remnant;of Imperial Russia's exchequer. ' . After the capture and execution of Koltchak by the Bolsheviks,. the bulk of the jewels were probably reclaimed by their owners. The money, however, amounting to at least 100,000,000 roubles (about £10,000,000) was, it is said," divided, into four parts by Koltchak's friends and relatives who were with on his < disastrous expedition. The bulk was " somewhare in Siberia." ? No mora was heard • about : the.', treasure until quite recently, when-a, group;of!four persons 'came to Paris andl. approached certain' financiers with a strangs . proposal. They declared that they were- aware of the spot where one-quarter of Koltchak'a. treasure, several millions. pounds '.in value, was buried, and.'it' was. their ;desira to sell their shares .of/it.; All-, treasures found in, Russia. : is, according law, devided equally between the.Govern* ment and the finders. One •of the great«st: of fßarisian' finan* ciers,, among others,, have, refused,to hays anything to do with, the- proposal, tha grtfup approached an" important Parisian bank, which." thought, that-the mattsfi-Atis worth ; inquiring into.. As a result,-a. preliminary agreement was concluded between, the two parties. - : : The group furnished' the > bank ; with certain information, and a commission has been despatched to, Moscow to verity, this and. to open. negotiations with .the .Russian Government. „V- . These - pourparlers were recently ' pro* ceeding, in Paris, when a curious com* plication arose. Holders of old Russian bonds, which are now practically, valueless, indicated their intentions to request tha French Government to proceed to; tho sequestration of all sums which, may come *to France as a result of the finding of Koltchak's treasure. These should, it Ma maintained, be used on behalf of French investors who suffered so heavily as a re* suit'of the Soviet Government's refusals to recognise the pre-Revolution debts contracted by Russia. There is a belief that the finding of ona part of. the treasure would result in th« discovery of data enabling the rest to bo unearthed.