Jack Williams, legal adviser – who was his mysterious client?

 

 The investdrinks post cited by 'Jack Williams' 

as being defamatory to his mysterious client

Starting on 30th May 2016 and ending the same day I had an unproductive correspondence with Jack Williams, who described himself as 'legal adviser'.

The first message from Jack Williams, legal adviser: 

'Dear Admin/Editor,

This is to bring your kind attention towards a very serious matter. A defamatory content 

http://investdrinks-blog.blogspot.in/2010/02/bordeaux-wine-company-anthony-grant-and.html has been published by you on your website http://investdrinks-blog.blogspot.in/ that is creating a lot of problem for my client. My client had no relation with this issue. 

My client has been unnecessarily dragged into it just due to its name and fame. The appearance of such type of content online is defaming my client on regular basis personally as well as professionally. And, as per the law my client has complete right to get it erased permanently from your website and google search result as well. 

Hence, its a request to get it erased/delete/take down asap

Defamatory link need to be deleted are: 

http://investdrinks-blog.blogspot.in/2010/02/bordeaux-wine-company-anthony-grant-and.html 

Your quick action and response will be highly appreciated.

Thank you

Jack Williams

legal adviser'

Williams never revealed who he was 'representing' nor what was deemed defamatory in my post of 26th February 2010. He wanted to know the source of the information that Boington & Fredericks had been closed in the public interest and that both Grant and Achom had spent time in prison for an EU fraud. When Williams deemed that Companies House and London's Southwark Crown Court as sources didn't satisfy him, I decided that Williams was an internet troll and that it would be foolish to spend anymore time on him.  

Williams sent two further messages, which I ignored:  

Last messages from Jack Williams – 15th and 16th June 2016:

On Wed, Jun 15, 2016 at 1:04 PM, jack williams <jack.willams0145@gmail.com> wrote:

'As I stated in my previous email again I reinstate that my client had no relation with this issue specially the way it has been written in your post and hence I asked you about the source you have used in this write up so that I can also see its facts. But you didn't provide me the same.

Yes, the details in investdrinks post are in the public domain and hence its a serious matter for my client. I think you are unable to provide me enough facts/proofs/source behind this post and hence I believe that the matter should be taken to court. You will be notified about this case's hearing.

Thanks'

'Hello Jim

Hope you are doing good as per our  last conversation against blog article without reference link or without evidence we have file legal cyber bulling case against your and for legal notice we need your postal address so please share your complete address so that i can share legal notice with your soon.

Regards'

 It seems clear that the aim of Williams or whoever created his persona wanted details about the history of Frederick (Freddy) Achom and/or Boington Anthony Grant removed from the net. 

It is possible that this attempt to have my February 26th 2010 post removed as part of a more comprehensive effort to cleanse the net of Achom and Grant's history. Was 'Jack Williams' linked in some way to this story of fake DMCA notices?
https://webactivism.com/apw-asset-management-investigation-for-fraud-impersonation-and-perjury-fake-dmca-12185604/

Just a coincidence that Frederick Achom was facing an appearance at Southwark Crown Court in late July 2016 for breaching his director disqualification by running now bust APW Asset Management Ltd? 

Frederick Achom was given a six month suspended jail sentence and ordered to pay nearly £1 million within three months for his admitted breach of his disqualification. If Achom fails to pay the fine he faces up to five years in jail. Details here and here.   

APW update from Quantuma – UK Agora still contacting APW clients

 Press release from Quantuma: 

17th July 2015

APW Asset Management Ltd in Liquidation 
APW Asset Management Ltd, the wine investment company, went into Liquidation on 25 March 2015.

Quantuma were jointly appointed to deal with the winding-up of the Company. Quantuma’s primary responsibilities are dealing with the assets of the Company and wines held in the names of investors. This will take some time to investigate due to the complications of the case.

Quantuma have been made aware of a number of communications from other wine investment companies to the former clients of APW Asset Management Ltd.

Nick Simmonds, Partner at Quantuma said “There are a number of complications with the Liquidation of APW Asset Management Ltd which will take some time to investigate and resolve. In the meantime we are concerned regarding approaches to former APW clients from other companies. We would like to reiterate that wines will not be released without Quantuma’s sanction and no third parties have been given permissionto contact clients in relation to APW. As a result, any contact received from third parties should be treated with extreme caution.”

'Please note that these calls/correspondence are NOT from Quantuma LLP' 

A report of identity theft has been made to Action Fraud and we would ask that any investorwho has been contacted in this manner make a report to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 using reference number : NFRC 150 300 964 442

•• 

Agora UK Ltd are one of the companies that have been contacting APW clients as this email below shows. Please see previous investdrinks post on Agora UK Ltd. UK Agora Ltd appear to be mistaken in thinking that they have spoken with Quantuma.

'From: Admin <admin@ukagora.com>
Date: 15 July 2015 at 17:14
Subject: APW UPDATE!
To:

Dear Client, 

We hope you are well. 

We have an update regarding the APW/Quantuma situation. 

A large institutional client of UK Agora's managed to remove his APW wines before they went into administration off of the back of our advice. However, he still has around 40 cases inside the APW London City Bond account which were not moved.

After putting significant pressure on Quantuma they have informed him that he can expect to receive his wines as they are not classed as APW's asset. 

Like you, he has provided full proof of purchase which has helped Quantuma identify what wines belong to him. Your wines are stored within a sub account inside APW's main account which makes your wines easy to identify. (Should you be unsure of your account reference please check your APW paperwork. It normally consists of your first and last initial followed by a few numbers).

Fortunately for clients APW did actually purchase the majority of the wines they recommended. The wines we are aware they did not purchase are; Chateaux Lafite Rothschild, Yara Yerring and the Torbreck Laird 2008. 

This comes as fanatic (sic!) news as it means that your verticals and other collectible positions remain intact! This news has added some relief to those clients who were unsure of what the outcome would be. 

I have also been given an idea of the time scale this process will take. But at this point I feel that it is probably not worth mentioning until I have an exact date. 

We will continue to keep you up-to-date on this matter.

Best Regards,

Admin Department
Address: 55 Old Broad Street, London, EC2M 1RX
Tel: 0207 997 6759
Email: info@ukagora.com 
Web: www.ukagora.com'

APW Asset Management in liquidation: possible appointment of liquidator

Now that APW Asset Management Ltd has been wound up in the public interest I expect that the Insolvency Service will now seek to appoint an insolvency practitioner to wind up the company and do the necessary investigation. This this case it will be important that, if an independent practitioner is appointed that they do a thorough investigation into not only the running of APW Asset Management but also to discover who is behind Big Wine Company Ltd, the chief shareholder of APW Asset Management Ltd and what links there may be to other wine investment companies.

See here.

As previously I have agreed to post the following notice for the information of creditors of APW. If there are other insolvency practitioners who also wish to be appointed liquidator of APW, I will be happy to post notices from them, too.   

Message from David Ingram of Grant Thornton  
'Following the winding up of APW Asset Management Ltd it is likely that the Official Receiver will convene a meeting of the company’s creditors to appoint an independent Insolvency Practitioner as liquidator of APW.  At the time of writing the date for the creditors’ meeting has not been set.  The appointment of the independent liquidator will be based upon the value of creditors supporting the nomination of that Insolvency Practitioner.  I am aware that David Ingram of Grant Thornton is seeking the appointment as liquidator in this case; David and his team have dealt with a number of fraudulent wine investment companies, notably Bordeaux Fine Wines Ltd and Fine Wine Vintners Ltd.  David specialises in contentious insolvency appointments – those cases that require a thorough investigation as to the background of the insolvency and the dealings of the directors of the company. David’s email address is david.ingram@uk.gt.com and has advised me he is happy to answer queries from creditors of APW.'

Scam APW Asset Management Ltd wound up in public interest

 

APW Asset Management Ltd was wound up in the public interest in the High Court, Manchester yesterday. The company had clear links through directors with the Bordeaux Wine Company Ltd – see here. I trust that the Insolvency Service will now be looking at these links. The owner(s) of the parent company – The Big Wine Company  – have yet to be identified.   

Press release from Insolvency Service:   
Misleading wine ‘investment’ company with ‘shadowy’ majority shareholder closed down following Insolvency Service investigation

From: The Insolvency Service

First published: 26 March 2015

APW Asset Management Ltd, a company which sold Australian wines to clients for investment and capital growth purposes, has been wound up by the High Court in Manchester on 25 March after making baseless claims that misled investors. 

An investigation by the Insolvency Service found the company made a string of patently false claims as to the soundness both of the potential investment returns and of how wines sales would be handled.  

In addition, the court heard that the company operated with a lack of transparency as to ownership and control. None of the company’s directors or personnel were able to provide information on the whereabouts or, indeed, existence of its 95% majority shareholder; and the control of the company does not appear to have rested with the appointed directors.

The company’s website claimed “APW proudly occupies the role of a ‘fiduciary’ in all its dealings, providing clients with a rare opportunity to obtain uncompromising and genuinely independent advice, free from conflicts of interest”. In contrast to this claimed role of fiduciary the investigation found that:

  

• since 2013 the main source of income for APW was from buying back wine from clients and reselling this wine to new clients, a process known as repack sales. Repack sales accounted for 91.2% of APW’s income by March 2014

• these repack sales resulted in the selling clients suffering an average loss of 44.3% on the price they had originally paid to APW for the wine

• APW then sold the same wine to new clients at an average profit mark up of 81.3%

• the new clients were unaware that the wine they were buying had been sold by other APW clients who had suffered sizeable losses

• the selling clients were led to believe that their wines were being sold by APW on the open market and not to new clients at a considerable profit to APW

• APW exploited the selling clients further by delaying or withholding payments due to them, including failing to remit in excess of £50,000 to the estate of a deceased client. The selling clients were falsely told that delayed remittances were attributable to extended settlement terms or to sales being made overseas when, in reality, the wine had been immediately sold to a new client who had made prompt payment to APW. The total amount due to clients in respect of unpaid remittances is estimated to be £600,000

• the delayed issuing of sales invoices and remittances to the selling clients has created confusion as to which client has legal title to the same wine by the company’s own calculation there is a deficit of 19,482 bottles of wine that should be held at a bonded warehouse on behalf of clients

Commenting on the case, Colin Cronin, Investigation Supervisor, said

APW used high pressure sales methods which emphasised the growth potential of its wine. Yet the viability of APW, in the latter years at least, depended upon its clients suffering losses on the wine they had bought for investment purposes. The company then cynically sold this same wine to new clients at a considerable profit for itself. This conduct is the very opposite of the fiduciary duty the company owed to its clients. 

These proceedings show that The Insolvency Service will take robust action against companies which operate against the public interest in this way.

I am aware that APW clients are now being targeted by a variety of businesses who falsely claim to have buyers for the wine, or to be able to release wine held by APW, or who are offering wine management services for the payment of upfront fees. I would urge clients to exercise great caution if approached by companies which purport to be able to assist in recovering their past losses. 

Similarly I would urge anyone cold-called and pressured to invest in any kind of investment to simply end the call as genuine investments are not likely to be sold in such a manner.

Notes to editors

APW Asset Management Ltd – company registration number 4618582 - was incorporated on 16 December 2002 under the name of Australian Liquid Assets Ltd. It changed its name to Australian Portfolio Wines Ltd on 22 January 2003 and to its current name, APW Asset Management Ltd, on 29 January 2013. The company’s registered office is at Pacific House, 382 Kenton Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA3 8DP.

The petition to wind-up APW Asset Management Ltd was presented under s124A of the Insolvency Act 1986 on 18 March 2015. The company was wound up on 25 March 2015 and the Official Receiver has been appointed as liquidator.

Company Investigations, part of the Insolvency Service, uses powers under the Companies Act 1985 to conduct confidential fact-finding investigations into the activities of live limited companies in the UK on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS). Further information about live company investigations is available.

All public enquiries concerning the affairs of the company should be made to: The Official Receiver, Public Interest Unit, 4 Abbey Orchard Street, London, SW1P 2HT. Telephone: 0207 637 1110 Email: piu.or@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk.

APW Asset Management Ltd into voluntary liquidation

It was confirmed yesterday (12th February 2015) that APW Asset Management Ltd is going into voluntary liquidation. The creditors' meeting to appoint the liquidator will be held on 6th March 2015 at the Holiday Inn, High Wycombe starting at 10.30. 

Creditors needing further information should contact Caroline Lowes of Quantuma on 01628-478100 or caroline.lowes@quantuma .com

Previous investdrinks story on APW Asset Management Ltd here.  

APW Shareholders
APW Asset Management Ltd has £100 of issued share capital. The parent company is The Big Wine Company, which is not registered in the UK. It's registration number is #0059904. Somewhere off-shore? Is there perhaps a possible clue in its initial letters – BWC?

I hope Quantuma will be able to reveal who the ultimate owners of APW Asset Management Ltd are?  

APW Asset Management Ltd headed for liquidation or still administration? (an update)

Although there are rumours that APW Asset Management Ltd, who offered Australian wines as an investment, is headed for liquidation. This has not been confirmed by Quantuma LLP, who are handling APW's affairs.

In response to my asking yesterday what the current status of APW Asset Management Ltd Quantuma LLP replied: 'At this moment we cannot confirm anything regarding the above case'. I'm promised an update when they are able 'to release some information'. 

Clients of APW Asset Management Ltd received a letter in December from Chima Maduabuchukwu, the company’s now sole director, telling them that ‘we will no longer be advising and managing your day to day and will be passing all management of APW affairs to Quantuma LLP of 81 Station Road, Marlow, Bucks, SL7 INS.’

The phones at APW Assessment Management Ltd are not being answered instead there is a message that the mailbox is full.    

Wines for APW clients are stored at London City Bond in numerous sub-accounts. LCB have frozen the whole APW Asset Management Ltd account as substantial storage charges are overdue. David Hogg at LCB’s Vinothèque said: “I’m sure the amount owed will be sorted out but is just a question of playing the waiting game.” 

“A number of APW clients have told us that they paid their storage charges at the end of last year,” said Hogg. “However, APW has not passed these on to us.”

Given that APW Asset Management Ltd appears not to be currently functioning and that the sum owed to LCB is some six figures, liquidation would now appear to be more likely than administration. Furthermore as monies paid over to APW for storage at LCB by their clients appears not to have been passed over, this raises the question of whether all of the wines ordered recently by investors have been purchased.  

 

Avoid UK Agora Ltd 
At least one APW client has been approached by Jamie Ellis of UK Agora Ltd offering to sell them wine as they ‘are more reputable than APW’. UK Agora Ltd was set up in April 2014. Ellis was previously a broker with APW. On 22^nd January 2015 Ellis offered £2500 for six bottles of 2009 Penfolds Grange including a 10% brokerage fee. wine-searcher shows that a six bottle case can be bought for £1560 from Berry Bros & Rudd. Today UK Agora Ltd's website has disappeared. Let's hope it stays down!

Six bottles of 2009 Grange for £2500 from UK Agora Ltd

including 10% brokerage fee 

Other prices for six bottles of 2009 Grange from £1477.60  

April Fools' Day makes early appearance!
From the UK Agora brochure: 
'Since the beginning of 2014, UK Agora Ltd has developed 
a standing as one of the primary fine wine investment businesses.'

  
 Formerly with APW Asset Management Ltd 

now Nicholas Gibbs is apparently with UK Agora Ltd

If the price of the 2009 Grange is any indication, UK Agora Ltd would appear to be following on with the investment pricing policy of APW Asset Management Ltd. Lionel Nierop of Bid for Wine has told investdrinks of a client of APW who a few years ago invested over £300K in Australian wines but was only able to realise around £60,000. A rule of thumb Nierop says investors can reckon to get back 20p in a £1 on their APW Australian investments at auction. This assumes that the wines are auctioned in bond.     

APW Asset Management Ltd was set up in December 2002. It was originally called Australian Liquid Assets Ltd, changing its name to Australian Portfolio Wines (UK) Ltd in early 2003. In early 2013 the company name was changed APW Asset Management Ltd. 

APW Asset Management Ltd has been run by a number of directors including Arlene King (July 2008 to December 2010), who was also the company secretary from July 2005 to December 2010. King has been a director of The Bordeaux Wine Company, another wine investment company, since January 2005 and is currently its sole director. Both companies have the same registered office in Kenton.  

41-year-old Frederick (Freddy) Achom is the senior partner and major shareholder in The Bordeaux Wine Company and a founder and chairman of The Rosemont Group. Achom has had a chequered career. In 2010 and 2011, according to Wikipedia, Achom was included in the Evening Standard’s list of 1000 most influential Londoners. He has also been listed as one of the UK’s Most Influential Black People. Wikipedia reports that: 'In 2012 his Rosemont Group’s wine asset management subsidiary companies, which span the UK, Australia and China, were reported to have over 50 million pounds of wine assets under management.' 

However, back in September 2000 Frederick Achom was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court, London to a year’s imprisonment for fraud. He, along with Anthony Grant, were barred from being UK company directors from July 2002 to July 2013.  His first wine investment company – Boington and Fredericks Ltd – was closed in the public interest in January 2002.

Chima Madu's Global Bordeaux site 

The Bahamas Connnection    
Chima Maduabuchukwu, also known as Chima Madu, is APW’s sole director (appointed August 2014) and is based in the Bahamas. He also runs Bahamas-based Global Bordeaux, a wine investment company, set up in 2013. Its address is: Suite 1A Regent Center, West Explorers Way, Freeport, Grand Bahama, Bahamas P.O.Box F-40337. Chima Maduabuchukwu's Bahamas address is Centre Suite, 1A Regent Center, West Explorers Way, Freeport, Grand Bahama, Bahamas F-40 393.

Regent Centre Suite 1a Regent Centre, Explorers Wa Freeport Grand Bahama Bahamas F-40 393

Read more at: http://companycheck.co.uk/director/919051387

Its website claims: 'At Global Bordeaux we use our expertise to successfully navigate the fine wine market for investors seeking growth and stability.' Wines are stored at London City Bond. 

Chima Madu was previously a director of the now dissolved Rosemont Overseas Investments Ltd (formed 5.8.2008). At the time Rosemont Overseas Investments Ltd was set up Chima Maduabuchukwu's address was 28D Fitz John's Avenue, London NW3 5NB. 

His fellow director was 42-year-old Dean Achom (DOB: 9.8.1972). Dean Achom has been a director of several companies including Rosemont Marketing Ltd that was formed in 7.12.2001 and dissolved 17.3.2009. Achom was a director from 22.1.2005 to 17.3.2009.  

Who I wonder decided to appoint Chima Maduabuchukwu as the sole director of APW Asset Management?

APW Shareholders
APW Asset Management Ltd has £100 of issued share capital. The parent company is The Big Wine Company, which is not registered in the UK. It's registration number is #0059904. Somewhere off-shore? Is there perhaps a possible clue in its initial letters – BWC?  

 Share capital: £100 – 5% held by Enzo Giannotta 

and 95% by Big Wine Company Ltd 

  Ultimate parent company: The Big Wine Company Ltd

Not registered in UK. No: #0059904

 

More to come as story unfolds ....  

See the fine investigation by Neal Baker in The Drinks Business on APW.   

ROSEMONT MARKETING LIMITED

Read more at: http://companycheck.co.uk/company/04335965/ROSEMONT-MARKETING-LIMITED/directors-secretaries