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주가 조작혐의를 받고 있는 CNK 인터내셔널 측이 "수조원의 가치가 있다"고 선전했던 카메룬 다이아몬드 광산에서 상품화된 다이아몬드조차 만들어내지 못한 것으로 밝혀졌다.
서울중앙지검은 13일 CNK 인터내셔널 오덕균 (48) 대표 등을 상대로 수사한 결과 "상품화된 다이아몬드는 확인되지 않았다"고 밝혔다.
검찰은 자사의 주가를 인위적으로 올린 혐의로(자본시장과 금융투자업에 관한 법률 위반) 로 오 대표를 구속기소하고 이 회사 정모(54•여) 이사를 불구속 기소했다.
또한 오 대표에게는 국회 국정감사에 증인으로 출석해 "지금 현재 40여명이 다이아몬 드 부존지역에서 6년 동안 활동을 하고 있습니다"라고 위증한 혐의도 추가됐다.
오 대표 등은 CNK가 2010년 개발권을 취득한 카메룬 다이아몬드 광산의 추정 매장량이 4억1천600만 캐럿에 달한다는 내용의 허위 자료를 수차례 배포해 주가를 올려 약 900억원의 부당이득을 올린 것으로 알려졌다.
2010년 12월에 외교부가 "CNK가 카메룬에서 추정 매장량이 최소 4억2000만캐럿에 달하는 다이아몬드 개발권을 획득했다"는 보도자료를 배포한 이후, 3000원 전후이던 이 회사 주가는 한때 1만7000원에 달할 정도로 폭등했다.
그러나 조사 결과 CNK가 수출했다고 주장하는 다이아몬드 원석은 상품화 여부가 확인되지 않았으며 이마저도 시가 4억5천만원어치에 불과한 것으로 밝혀졌다.
심지어 오 대표는 지난해 8월 자신이 갖고 있던 CNK마이닝카메룬의 지분 58.8％ 중 절반이 넘는 30%를 3천만 달러(한화 310억8천만원)에 매도했으며, 이로 인해 다이아 몬드 광산의 경영권은 지분을 넘겨받은 중국 타이푸 전기그룹 양텐푸 회장에게 넘어간 것으로 알려졌다.
한편 지난 2월에는 김은석 전 외교통상부 에너지자원 대사 등이 주가조작 의혹에 사건에 연루되어 불구속 기소되었다.
(코리아헤럴드 윤민식 기자 minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)
CNK head indicted over diamond fraud case
By Yoon Min-sik
Prosecutors said Sunday it indicted CNK chief Oh Deok-gyun on the charge of spreading false rumors about the company’s diamond mine to manipulate its stock prices and pocket illegal profits.
Oh, 48, allegedly reaped about 90 million won ($86 million) by inflating his company’s stock prices by releasing false statements about the volume of diamond reserves in CNK’s Cameroon mine, according to Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.
He was arrested last month after hiding in Cameroon for two years.
While Oh had claimed that the mine was worth billions of dollars, investigators found that the company has failed to produce a commercially viable diamond since acquiring developer rights in December 2010. Even if the company had exported 2,100 carats of gemstones as it claimed, the stones’ value would only amount to about 450 million won at most.
They also dismissed the company’s claim that the mine holds some 416 million carats of diamond reserves as “groundless.”
Last week, investigators found that Oh had sold more than half of his stake in the mine to a Chinese company for $30 million, effectively turning over its management.
Oh was accused of falsely testifying at a parliamentary audit in 2011 that a team of 40 people had been working in the area for six years.
A 54-year-old high-ranking official of CNK was also indicted without physical detention for taking part in the stock manipulation.
Oh’s indictment caps a years-long investigation that kicked off when Securities and Futures Commission filed a complaint against the entrepreneur in January 2012, accusing him of exaggerating the diamond reserves in the Cameroon mine.
Some of the blame fell on former president Lee Myung-bak’s administration, as it is believed to have played a significant role in promoting the deal.
After the government publicly confirmed CNK’s claim, the company’s stock price skyrocketed from some 3,000 won to 16,000 within a month. A subsequent announcement by the Foreign Ministry in June 2011 reaffirmed the diamond reserves estimate, which was again followed by a surge in the stock price.
Former Energy and Resources Ambassador Kim Eun-seok and other government officials are currently being tried on suspicion of taking part in the diamond mine fraud.
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)
