Fraud specialist warns of wine investment scam

Mike Wright, Quantuma

A Midlands business advisory firm has warned investors about not falling victim to wine investment frauds.

Quantuma said the fraudsters were targeting investors across central England.

The firm issued its warning after two men were jailed following a trial at St Albans Crown Court.

Abu Hanifa Bin Khalek, of Hoddeston, was jailed for two years seven months, and Onur Kemal Aslan, of Enfield, received a sentence of six and a half years. Both had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud.

The court was told the two men had been running what appeared to their clients to be two legitimate wine investment companies.

However, Clarex Wines and Permas were both covers for an extensive wine investment fraud.

The victims of the fraud lost a total of £450,000.

Quantuma partner Mike Wright, has more than 20 years’ experience in risk management, corporate security and fraud investigations. He also has considerable experience with wine investments.

He said: “With interest rates on savings still very low, it is all too tempting to seek out an investment that promises much higher returns.

“Clever fraudsters can play on this by offering spectacular returns on investments such as wine, fine art, and several other asset categories carefully chosen to appeal to high net worth individuals, who may consider themselves sophisticated investors.

“But, unfortunately, one of the oldest clichés in financial services applies to many of the schemes or scams out there – if it seems too good to be true, it usually is.

“There is indeed a thriving market for investment in fine wines, but you need a certain amount of knowledge, an honest broker and to recognise that you may not achieve the returns promised.

“Fraudsters plan their deception carefully and cover their tracks well.”

In 2015, Quantuma was involved in the untangling of APW Asset Management, which sold wines for investment and capital growth using high pressure sales tactics.

An investigation by the Insolvency Service found that the company made baseless claims that misled investors.

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