The Six Billion Dollar Gold Scam BBC Podcasts

It was the biggest gold mine fraud of all time – a scam that devastated countless lives. But what really happened? Suzanne Wilton revisits the story that she just couldn’t let go of, to find answers about how the scam was perpetrated… and about the mysterious death of a geologist in the jungle. Released from 19 May 2024.
From the BBC World Service and CBC.

Bre-X geologist Michael de Guzman is the man of the hour. He’s responsible for one of the biggest gold discoveries in the world, deep in the Indonesian jungle. It’s a find that sends Bre-X stock prices soaring to stratospheric heights. So his apparent death - a dramatic fall from a helicopter flying to the gold site - sends shockwaves around the world. Did he jump? Was he pushed? But the days following his death will prove even more shocking.
Please note, this episode contains difficult subject matter, including references to suicide and death. The series has references to suicide and some graphic content.

It’s gold fever. Estimates put the Bre-X discovery at four times the size of the biggest known gold deposit, and investors are trying to cash in. A small Canadian town is swept up in the gold rush. But others are asking questions, including a hedge fund manager who goes to extraordinary lengths to get inside the Indonesia gold site.
Since this episode was recorded, John McBeth has sadly passed away. We are very grateful for his contribution to this story.

As the value of the Indonesian gold discovery skyrockets, it’s not just everyday investors who want in. Major players are drawn into the fight for the gold in Busang. But Bre-X, a small company, has only ever traded as a penny stock. Can it stand up to powerful rivals and play in the big leagues?

Bre-X’s new partners visit the Indonesian gold exploration site and make a shocking discovery. It will result in a reckoning half a world away at the mining industry’s party of the year, the Prospector and Developers Association Convention. Is the dream of a billion-dollar gold mine about to shatter?

On the ground at the Busang exploration site, the dream is collapsing and Bre-X geologist Michael de Guzman is needed for some major questioning. But where is he? As the hours tick by and he fails to arrive at Bre-X's site, news of a tragedy spreads. Those involved in the gold discovery need to get out of Indonesia, fast.

Since this episode was recorded, John McBeth has sadly passed away. We are very grateful for his contribution to this story.

Please note, this episode deals with upsetting scenes including suicide and contains some graphic details.