HUNDREDS of people have been conned out of their life savings after being scammed into buying non-existent barrels of whisky.
People were duped into forking out millions to buy casks that were overpriced or nonexistent by an online company called Cask Whisky Ltd, run by a man calling himself Craig Arch.
Alison Cocks, from Montrose, invested £103,000 in casks and received regular updates.
She was promised a 12 per cent return forecast to rise to as much as 50 per cent and invested in another three casks for a total £100,000. But she realised something was wrong when she wanted to sell her casks and the firm stopped all communications.
Speaking on a BBC Disclosure documentary, she said: "I decided I'd start investigating my own casks. On my certificates, it showed where my casks were, allegedly. When I actually contacted those warehouses, they weren't there."
Independent whisky valuers told Alison she paid five times what her barrels were worth.
She tracked down three of the four casks in warehouses but none were in her name.
The dearest she bought, which cost her £49,500, does not exist.
She is one of 200 people who invested with Cask Whisky Ltd and are trying to work out if they actually own their casks. The market for whisky investment has swelled with reports of huge returns from rare whiskies.
Investors buy a cask when it is first produced and...
People were duped into forking out millions to buy casks that were overpriced or nonexistent by an online company called Cask Whisky Ltd, run by a man calling himself Craig Arch.
Alison Cocks, from Montrose, invested £103,000 in casks and received regular updates.
She was promised a 12 per cent return forecast to rise to as much as 50 per cent and invested in another three casks for a total £100,000. But she realised something was wrong when she wanted to sell her casks and the firm stopped all communications.
Speaking on a BBC Disclosure documentary, she said: "I decided I'd start investigating my own casks. On my certificates, it showed where my casks were, allegedly. When I actually contacted those warehouses, they weren't there."
Independent whisky valuers told Alison she paid five times what her barrels were worth.
She tracked down three of the four casks in warehouses but none were in her name.
The dearest she bought, which cost her £49,500, does not exist.
She is one of 200 people who invested with Cask Whisky Ltd and are trying to work out if they actually own their casks. The market for whisky investment has swelled with reports of huge returns from rare whiskies.
Investors buy a cask when it is first produced and...
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Daily Record (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 28, 2025