Fraudsters are raking in millions by scamming people into investing in rare whiskies that either don’t exist or have already been sold to someone else.
Experts are warning that the rapid growth in whisky cask investment schemes is fertile ground for con artists, with the fraudulent market now estimated to be worth over £150 million.
The problem is compounded by a lack of oversight from any regulatory authority, leaving the booming industry open to exploitation by criminal gangs for money laundering.
Young people are being targeted on social media platforms like Instagram with ads promising guaranteed returns, enticing them to invest in these fraudulent schemes.
The concept behind whisky cask investment is straightforward: as whisky ages, it gains value, so a barrel purchased for £1,000 today could be worth significantly more in two decades.
Vicky Bruce, owner of whisky verification firm Casknet, has conducted a comprehensive study into the scale of fraud within the industry, highlighting the damage this could cause to Scotland’s vital whisky sector.
“In some cases, people have invested millions of pounds into whisky that doesn’t exist or have never seen,” Bruce said.
Her research revealed that companies and individual brokers use various tactics to deceive investors, such as selling counterfeit casks with incorrect labels, selling casks that don’t exist, or selling the same cask to multiple people.
“The issue is that because casks are marketed as investment opportunities, they aren’t regulated financial products, and the individuals offering these investments are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority,” Bruce explained.
Last November, the City of London Police issued a statement cautioning people about the risks of whisky investments after one company was found to be falsely promoting on social media.
Blackford Casks Ltd, trading as Whisky Investment Partners, promised investors returns of between eight and 12 percent, leading the Advertising Standards Agency to label their ads “irresponsible.” However, Blackford Casks was not found guilty of fraud.
Whisky broker Blair Bowman expressed concern over the long-term effects of these scams on the whisky industry.
“The sector has drawn in bad actors, including people previously involved in scams related to fine art and wine,” Bowman noted. “My worry is the damage this could cause to the whisky industry. Naive investors might not realize they’ve been duped until five or ten years down the line, when they want their returns but can’t reach the companies—the website is gone, the emails don’t work. It’s going to be a real mess.”
