Irish Police Warns Irish Whiskey Cask Fraud Can Fund Organized Crime
An Garda Síochána - the Irish national police - issued a stark warning to the public about the rise of so-called "whiskey fraud," urging victims to come forward and highlighting the role such scams may play in supporting organised criminal activity, reports The Irish Times.
In recent years, the tally of investment scams involving casks of Scotch whisky and also Irish whiskey has grown. Often, prospective investors are persuaded to purchase casks of so-called 'rare whiskey' with promises of dramatic future profits.
However, the reality is more problematic. Casks are often sold at vastly inflated prices, may not even exist at all, or the same cask is sold to multiple 'investors'.
Maturing casks of Irish whiskey. The Irish police (Gardaí) have called for potential victims of ... More Irish whiskey cask investment fraud to come forward.
These scams are typically perpetrated by firms that seem legitimate on the surface, offering professional-looking websites, contracts, and 'certificates of ownership'. But often actual verification of ownership is made difficult, with victims only discovering they have been defrauded when these companies shut down without warning.
The issue has garnered international media attention, though mostly focusing on Scotch whisky. This includes a story from The New York Times and an investigation from the BBC. I've also written about how the scams work in this publication.
In London, police are currently investigating at least three companies suspected of being involved in whiskey fraud.
The City of London Police confirmed that while a few scams involved Irish whiskey, the Garda have stated that so far, 'no significant instances of whiskey fraud have been identified in this jurisdiction.' Nonetheless, they also acknowledged the problem's reach and urged vigilance, and confirmed that the The Garda National Economic Crime Bureau is monitoring the situation.
A Garda spokeswoman stated: 'Whiskey fraud and associated crimes not only erode consumer trust but also present serious health risks and can contribute to the activities of organised crime.'
However, when contacted for a comment, Eoin Ó Catháin, director of the Irish Whisky Association trade group, downplayed the potential of cask fraud crime in Ireland:
'We were happy to see the Gardaí had said that there's no instances or no significant instances of cask whiskey investment fraud happening in Ireland. To be honest, that's what we had seen as well," he said.
"We looked at it internally after we had first seen reports come out of the BBC last month about investment schemes in Scotch, and we didn't find anything wrong.'
Authorities are now appealing to the public: anyone with information about whiskey fraud—whether they have suspicions or believe they may have been a victim—is encouraged to contact their local Garda station.
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