The Irish police warn that Irish whiskey barrel fraud can finance organized crimes

A Garda Síochána – the Irish national police – admitted to the public a strong warning of the rise of the so -called “whiskey fraud”, who asked the victims to report and emphasize the role that such frauds could play with the support of organized criminal activities, reports Irish Times.

In recent years, the balance of investment fraud with barrels from Scotch Whiskey and Irish whiskey has grown. Potential investors are often persuaded to buy barrels from so -called “rare whiskey” with promises dramatic future profits.

However, reality is more problematic. Barrels are often sold at prices that are inflated heavily, there may not even be any, or the same barrel is sold to several “investors”.

These fraud are usually committed by companies that appear legitimate on the surface and offer professional websites, contracts and “owner certificates”. The actual review of property is often difficult, although the victims only find that they were cheated if these companies were closed without warning.

The problem has attracted international media attention, although it mainly focuses on Scotch whiskey. This includes a history of the New York Times and an examination by the BBC. I also wrote about how the scams work in this publication.

In London, the police are currently investigating at least three companies that are suspected of being involved in whiskey fraud.

The City of London police confirmed that although a few frauds were involved in Irish whiskey, which Garda explained that no major cases of whiskey fraud were identified in this jurisdiction. Nevertheless, they also recognized the range of the problem and urged the vigilance and confirmed that the National Economic Crime Bureau of the Garda was monitoring the situation.

A spokeswoman for Garda said: “Whiskey fraud and associated crimes not only undermine the trust of consumers, but also set serious health risks and can contribute to the activities of organized crime.”

When Eoin ó Catháin, director of the Irish Whiskey Association Trade Group, was contacted, Eoin ó Catháin played the potential of barrel fraud crime in Ireland:

“We were glad to see that the Gardaí said that there were no cases or no significant cases of Cask Whiskey Investment fraud in Ireland. To be honest, we saw that too,” he said.

“We looked at it internally after we had seen reports about the BBC about investment systems in Scotch for the first time last month, and we didn't find anything wrong.”

The authorities are now appealing to the public: Anyone who has suspected or believes that he has suspected or believe that he has been a victim is encouraged to contact their local Garda station.