Whisky auctioneer unearths counterfeiting operation

Whisky.Auction, an online spirits auctioneer, has said it has uncovered a “large scale” counterfeiting operation of extreme sophistication and an arrest has been made.

The auctioneer explained that during authenticity checks by its team a visit was paid to the private residence of a seller to check the whiskies they wished to consign to a sale.

At the house they became suspicious of the large number of bottles of very valuable spirits they discovered there.

It was quickly suspected that the man was running a counterfeiting operation, refilling bottles of whisky, rum and other spirits, using young liquids in older bottles, “with a level of sophistication never before seen in fraudulent spirits production.”

Based on evidence supplied by Whisky.Auction, the man was apparently arrested by the Metropolitan Police on suspicion of Fraud by False Representation and has been bailed pending a further investigation and all the bottles and spirits at his home have been confiscated.

Whisky.Auction’s director, Isabel Graham-Yooll (pictured), commented: “What we saw at the property was a significant collection, hundreds of bottles, of supposedly valuable liquids that if genuine were unlikely to be available on such a scale. This was an immediate red flag and our doubts were justified when we began scrutinising individual bottles.”

“Unfortunately the level of attention to detail we have seen in this counterfeiting operation has never been seen on such a scale before.

“We pride ourselves on our very stringent procedures when it comes to assessing authenticity and provenance of a bottle and we’re thankful that the Metropolitan Police have taken this issue seriously and stopped the accused from making further bottles available to market.”

The extent of the counterfeiting operation and how long it has been going on are still not known although Graham-Yooll estimated that the cost of the bottles confiscated from the house ran in to “hundreds of thousands”.

In a statement to sister publication The Spirits Business, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police commented: “Detectives from the Organised Crime Command are investigating an allegation of fraud involving counterfeit Whisky
“The offence was reported to police on Tuesday, 17 January 2017.
“The offence involves purported vintage Whisky being sold at auctions in forged bottles and containing non-vintage spirit.
“On Thursday, 2 February a 41-year-old-man was arrested in connection with the investigation at an address in Finchley, N3.
“He was taken to a south London police station and subsequently bailed to return on a date in early April.”

Late last year a whisky broker and investment company, Rare Whisky 101, announced it had discovered several rare whiskies that turned out to be fake.

Valued at £1 million, it hinted that what it had discovered was merely “the tip of the iceberg” when it came to the world of counterfeit whiskies.