Dirty archaeology money Korea scientist paid Russia mafia for mammoth

Disgraced South Korean stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-suk said on Tuesday he spent part of private donations for research to pay the Russian mafia for mammoth tissues to clone extinct elephant species.

Hwang, once celebrated as a national hero, was indicted in May on charges of fraud and embezzlement after prosecutors said he was the mastermind of a scheme to make it look like his team had produced stem cells through cloning human embryos.

He previously told a Seoul court that he spent part of more than $1 million in corporate donations for "peripheral activities related to research."