Michael de Guzman, Bre-X geologist, is still alive!
Geologist feared dead in gold mine scam is still alive, claims wife
August 23, 2005
The wife of a missing Filipino geologist involved in one of the biggest scams in mining history says he is alive and has twice sent her money since vanishing eight years ago.
Michael de Guzman's Indonesian wife told The Straits Times correspondent in Jakarta, John McBeth, that her husband phoned their Jakarta home in April 1997 - six weeks after he allegedly jumped to his death from a helicopter in remote East Kalimantan as the Bre-X scandal unfolded.
Genie de Guzman, breaking her silence for the first time since the scandal, said their elderly maid nearly dropped the telephone when she heard the geologist's familiar voice.
``Mike said it was just after dawn where he was and that he had just woken up,'' de Guzman said.
The geologist told the maid to inform Genie to check her Citibank account. When she did, she found US$200,000 (HK$1.56 million) in it.
``I realised that although he was still alive, I had to live my own life,'' said de Guzman, a member of the Dayak ethnic group in Kalimantan, where her husband's Canadian-based firm Bre-X Minerals claimed to have found billions of dollars' worth of gold deposits at its Busang mine. Bre-X shares became stock market favorites, turning company executives into wealthy men until gold samples were found to have been faked by the geologist.
After de Guzman vanished, a body torn by wild pigs was found in Kalimantan. The remains were identified as those of Michael de Guzman, but his death remains the stuff of corporate and political intrigue in Indonesia.
Genie said she heard nothing from her husband again until this year when she received a faxed notice - apparently from Brazil - that US$25,000 had been deposited into the same Citibank account on February 14, Valentine's Day.
``There's a feeling I have that he's been communicating with me,'' Genie said. ``My job has been to look after the children,'' she added, referring to their 18-year-old daughter Paula and son Michael Junior, 8.
De Guzman also claimed that her husband was summoned to the Indonesian presidential palace in 1996 by the dictator Suharto, who was overthrown in 1998, and his tycoon friend, Muhammad ``Bob'' Hasan, who eventually served time in jail for corruption.
``After that, he realised he had a big problem on his hands,'' she said.
``Essentially, they wanted to take over the mine. He had the impression they wanted it for free.''
Genie de Guzman believes her husband will soon emerge from hiding.
``I have a feeling that in a few months he will,'' she said.
``The longest any secret should be kept is eight years.
|
