Yamashita ' s gold Yamashita ' s gold , also referred to as the Yamashita treasure , is the name given to the alleged war loot liberated in Southeast Asia by Japanese forces during World War II and hidden in caves , tunnels and underground complexes in the Philippines . It is named for the Japanese general Tomoyuki Yamashita , nicknamed " The Tiger of Malaya " . Though accounts that the treasure remains hidden in Philippines have lured treasure hunters from around the world for over fifty years , its existence is dismissed by most experts . The rumored treasure has been the subject of a complex lawsuit that was filed in a Hawaiian state court in 1988 involving a Filipino treasure hunter , Rogelio Roxas , and the former Philippine president , Ferdinand Marcos . The looting and the alleged cover - up . Prominent among those arguing for the existence of Yamashita ' s gold are Sterling Seagrave and Peggy Seagrave , who have written two books relating to the subject : " The Yamato Dynasty : the Secret History of Japan ' s Imperial Family " ( 2000 ) and " Gold Warriors : America ' s Secret Recovery of Yamashita ' s Gold " ( 2003 ) . The Seagraves contend that looting was organized on a massive scale , by both " yakuza " gangster s such as Yoshio Kodama , and the highest levels of Japanese society , including Emperor Hirohito . The Japanese government intended that loot from Southeast Asia would finance Japan ' s war effort . The Seagraves allege that Hirohito appointed his brother , Prince Yasuhito Chichibu , to head a secret organization called " Kin no yuri " ( " Golden Lily " ) , for this purpose . It is purported that many of those who knew the locations of the loot were killed during the war , or later tried by the Allies for war crimes and executed or incarcerated . Yamashita himself was ( controversially ) convicted of war crimes and executed by the U . S . Army on February 23 , 1946 . The stolen property reportedly included many different kinds of valuables looted from banks , depositories , temples , churches , other commercial premises , mosques , museums and private homes . It takes its name from General Tomoyuki Yamashita , who assumed command of Japanese forces in the Philippines in 1944 . According to various accounts , the loot was initially concentrated in Singapore , and later transported to the Philippines . The Japanese hoped to ship the treasure from the Philippines to the Japanese Home Islands after the war ended . As the War in the Pacific progressed , U . S . Navy submarine s and Allied warplane s inflicted increasingly heavy sinkings of Japanese merchant shipping . Some of the ships carrying the war booty back to Japan were sunk in combat . The Seagraves and a few others have claimed that American military intelligence operatives located much of the loot ; they colluded with Hirohito and other senior Japanese figures to conceal its existence , and they used it to finance American covert intelligence operations around the world during the Cold War . These rumors have inspired many hopeful treasure hunters , but most experts and Filipino historians say there is no credible evidence behind these claims . In 1992 , Imelda Marcos claimed that Yamashita ' s gold accounted for the bulk of the wealth of her husband , Ferdinand Marcos . Many individuals and consortia , both Philippine and foreign , continue to search for treasure sites . A number of accidental deaths , injuries and financial losses incurred by treasure hunters have been reported . At present , the Mines & Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Natural Resources of the Philippines is the Filipino government agency that grants treasure permits . Treasure skeptics . University of the Philippines professor Rico Jose has questioned the theory that treasure from mainland South East Asia was transported to the Philippines : " By 1943 the Japanese were no longer in control of the seas . . . It doesn ' t make sense to bring in something that valuable here when you know it ' s going to be lost to the Americans anyway . The more rational thing would have been to send it to Taiwan or China . " Philippines National Historical Institute chairman and historian Ambeth Ocampo commented : “ Two of the wealth myths I usually encounter are the Yamashita treasure and gossip that the Cojuangco fortune was founded on a bag of money … ” Ocampo also said : " For the past 50 years many people , both Filipinos and foreigners , have spent their time , money and energy in search of Yamashita ' s elusive treasure . ” Professor Ocampo noted “ What makes me wonder is that for the past 50 years , despite all the treasure hunters , their maps , oral testimony and sophisticated metal detectors , nobody has found a thing . ” Rogelio Roxas lawsuit . In March 1988 , a Filipino treasure hunters named [ Erwin Yabut and Alvin Calma ] filed a lawsuit in the state of Hawaii against the former president of the Philippines , Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda Marcos for theft and human rights abuses . Roxas claimed that in Baguio City in 1961 he met the son of a former member of the Japanese army who mapped for him the location of the legendary Yamashita Treasure . Roxas claimed a second man , who served as Yamashita ' s interpreter during the Second World War , told him of visiting an underground chamber there where stores of gold and silver were kept , and who told of a golden buddha kept at a convent located near the underground chambers . Roxas claimed that within the next few years he formed a group to search for the treasure , and obtained a permit for the purpose from a relative of Ferdinand , Judge Pio Marcos . In 1971 , Roxas claimed , he and his group uncovered an enclosed chamber on state lands near Baguio City where he found bayonet s , samurai sword s , radios , and skeletal remains dressed in a Japanese military uniform . Also found in the chamber , Roxas claimed , were a golden - colored Buddha and numerous stacked crates which filled an area approximately 6 feet x 6 feet x 35 feet . He claimed he opened just one of the boxes , and found it packed with gold bullion . He said he took from the chamber the golden Buddha , which he estimated to weigh 1 , 000 kilograms , and one box with twenty - four gold bars , and hid them in his home . He claimed he resealed the chamber for safekeeping until he could arrange the removal of the remaining boxes , which he suspected were also filled with gold bars . Roxas said he sold seven of the gold bars from the opened box , and sought potential buyers for the golden Buddha . Two individuals representing prospective buyers examined and tested the metal in the Buddha , Roxas said , and reported it was made of solid , 20 - carat gold . It was soon after this , Roxas claimed , that President Ferdinand Marcos learned of Roxas ' discovery and ordered him arrested , beaten , and the Buddha and remaining gold seized . Roxas alleged that in retaliation to his vocal campaign to reclaim the Buddha and the remainder of the treasure taken from him , Ferdinand continued to have Roxas threatened , beaten and eventually incarcerated for over a year . Following his release , Roxas put his claims against Marcos on hold until Ferdinand lost the presidency in 1986 . But in 1988 , Roxas and the Golden Budha Corporation , which now held the ownership rights to the treasure Roxas claims was stolen from him , filed suit against Ferdinand and wife Imelda in a Hawaiian state court seeking damages for the theft and the surrounding human rights abuses committed against Roxas . Roxas died on the eve of trial , but prior to his death he gave the deposition testimony that would be later used in evidence . In 1996 , the Roxas estate and the Golden Budha Corporation received what was then largest judgment ever awarded in history , $ 22 billion which with interest increased to $ 40 . 5 billion . In 1998 , The Hawaii Supreme Court held that there was sufficient evidence to support the jury ' s finding that Roxas found the treasure and that Marcos converted it . However , the court reversed the damage award , holding that the $ 22 billion award of damages for the chamber full of gold was too speculative , as there was no evidence of quantity or quality , and ordered a new hearing on the value of the golden Buddha and 17 bars of gold only . After several more years of legal proceedings , the Golden Budha Corporation obtained a final judgment against Imelda Marcos to the extent of her interest in the Marcos estate in the principal amount of $ 13 , 275 , 848 . 37 and Roxas ’ estate obtained a $ 6 million judgment on the claim for human right abuse . This lawsuit ultimately concluded that Roxas found a treasure , and although the Hawaiian state court was not required to determine whether this particular treasure was the legendary Yamashita ’ s gold , the testimony relied upon by the court in reaching its conclusion pointed in that direction . Roxas was allegedly following a map from the son of a Japanese soldier ; Roxas allegedly relied on tips provided from Yamashita ’ s interpreter ; and Roxas allegedly found samurai swords and the skeletons of dead Japanese soldiers in the treasure chamber . All this led the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal to summarize the allegations leading to Roxas ’ final judgment as follows : " The Yamashita Treasure was found by Roxas and stolen from Roxas by Marcos ' men . " References . Related to Roxas v . Marcos :