Ex-clients of Bordeaux Fine Wines Ltd should avoid London Commodity Exchange plc

 

Mailbox Rental:
Jain Harsh address: Suite 444, 19-21 Crawford Street, London W1H 1PJ

Recently I was contacted by RT, a former client of Bordeaux Fine Wines Ltd, who had been cold called by Jonathan Church of the London Commodity Exchange claiming to be able to recover wines he had bought through BFW that were now held overseas.

RT was rightly suspicious of Mr Church and the London Commodity Exchange. These suspicions have been confirmed by Grant Thornton's David Ingram, the liquidator of Bordeaux Fine Wines Ltd. Ingram informs me that there are no unaccounted BFW stocks of wines:

'We have undertaken a comprehensive forensic exercise on the little wine that was actually purchased by Bordeaux Fine Wines and are satisfied that it has been accounted for.  There is certainly no stocks of wine overseas.' 

David Ingram's email is below.

London Commodity Exchange plc is one of Jain Harsh's companies. Harsh was born in January 1979. His correspondence address is Suite 444, 19-21 Crawford Street, London W1H 1PJ. He is director of multiple companies (at least 25 – mainly dormant) with an apparently share capital of at least £2,222,001,002 – 15 companies checked to date. If cold called by London Commodity Exchange or other similar company spinning the same tale, my very strong advice is to put the phone down. 

 

Email from RT:

Dear Jim,

I would be grateful if you could read the email below and let me have your opinion.

As background I was an investor in Bordeaux Fine Wines and am now awaiting the completion of the liquidation process.

I was contacted this afternoon (cold called) by Jonathan Church who explained that his company (London Commodity Exchange) was supported by the government and that they were investigating the existence of wine purchased by the director and managers of Bordeaux Fine Wines, in the name of investors, and then stored overseas in the joint names of BFW and the investor.

He claimed that they had recovered wine for 28/29 investors and subsequently disposed of it on their behalf.  He offered to investigate the existence of wine held overseas in my name and then to obtain a valuation prior to selling it.  As yet I have no knowledge of the business arrangements they would propose.

He made great play about the liquidator not being interested in finding these deposits of wine but unfortunately I cannot remember the logic behind this assertion.

Before they could start work I would have to provide them with a list of the wine I purchased from BFW that had not been deposited in my bonded warehouse account.

I found the company on the internet (http://londoncommodityexchange.com/) and they appear to be a futures trading organisation.  There was no reference to dealing in wine.

Personally I have never heard of London Commodity Exchange and I am worried that this is yet another scam.  I would appreciate any comments you may have.  If this does prove to be a scam it would be appreciated if you would make more people aware via your web site.

Best regards,

RT

••

  
Email from Jonathan Church, London Commodity Exchange 

From: admin admin [mailto:admin@londoncommodityexchange.co.uk]
Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 2016 3:44 PM
To: RT
Subject: London Commodity Exchange

 

Dear Mr RT,

Further to your conversation with one of our marketing advisors, we are writing to you to inform you of the updates regarding the particular investment you acquired through the liquidated company in question.

After researching our systems it has become apparent that you have had difficulty in selling your assets and have not had an accurate valuation of them in some time.

We would like to make you aware that although the company/s you’ve dealt with have had mismanagement problems throughout their organisation, it does not mean that the assets you acquired through them are unsuitable for your portfolio it just means that they haven’t been managed correctly.

When commodity companies in the UK go into certain forms of difficulty it is our duty to ensure we can put the clientele of those organisations in a position where they can sell their assets in a safe, secure and reliable manner.

Through the research which was carried out by our advisors it has come to our attention that your portfolio hasn’t been marketed, and it’s imperative that this process is fully exercised.

Unfortunately it seems that the companies you dealt with never informed you of the sale process and as a consequence this has left your portfolio stagnant for some time.

As promised by our consultants, your portfolio will be accurately valued (once information has been provided) by an independent source. Where they would take market conditions into consideration to shed light on the overall value of your assets.

We would like to make you aware that the valuations are extremely important. However, they are meaningless unless there is a third party buyer who is interested in purchasing the portfolio.

Once our advisors have informed you of the valuations, they would then elaborate on the sale process and how to conclude business in a way that would suit you.

We strive to deliver excellence in every part of our business and welcome any feedback that will enable us to do this.

Let us take this opportunity to congratulate you on taking affirmative steps to closing the chapter on this part of your portfolio.

If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to contact us on 0203 627 7833    

 

 

Best Regards,

 

Jonathan Church
Administration and Compliance Team
London Commodity Exchange Plc.
 
Telephone: 020 3267 7833
Email: admin@londoncommodityexchange.co.uk


Disclaimer:
Everything in this email and any attachments relating to the official business of London Commodity Exchange Plc. and any or all subsidiaries ("the Company") is proprietary to the Company. It is confidential, legally privileged and protected by relevant laws. The Company does not own and endorse any other content. Views and opinions are those of the sender unless clearly stated as being that of the Company.

The person or persons addressed in this email are the sole authorized recipient. Please notify the sender immediately if it has unintentionally or inadvertently reached you and do not read, disclose or use the content in any way and delete this e-mail from your system.

The Company cannot ensure that the integrity of this email has been maintained nor that it is free of errors, virus, interception or interference. The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of this message which arise as a result of e-mail transmission. If verification is required please request a hard-copy version. This message is provided for informational purposes and should not be construed as a solicitation or offer to buy or sell any securities or related financial instruments.

••

Response from David Ingram, Liquidator of Bordeaux Fine Wines Ltd, Grant Thornton 

We have also spoken to a couple of investors who have also been contacted by this outfit.  I quickly concluded that London Commodity Exchange is, as you state, another fraudulent enterprise trying to perpetrate an advance fee fraud on existing victims.  I strongly recommended to the creditors of BFW whom I spoke to that they should have nothing to do with London Commodity exchange and should definitely not pay them anything.

 

We have undertaken a comprehensive forensic exercise on the little wine that was actually purchased by Bordeaux Fine Wines and are satisfied that it has been accounted for.  There is certainly no stocks of wine overseas.

 

Please do emphasise this message on your website

 

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.'

Bordeaux Fine Wines Ltd closed in public interest – Kenneth Gundlach admits £12 million worth of wine missing

Happier days for Kenneth Gundlach: Bordeaux Fine Wines Ltd 

sponsored the ROA (Race Horse Owners) Horseracing Awards in 2012

Details here and here
Ken Gundlach is first from left of line across stage 

Bordeaux Fine Wines Limited - in Liquidation 

‘The Company was placed into formal liquidation at the hearing today (26 February 2014) in the Companies Court (High Court, London) on the grounds it is expedient in the public interest on the basis it just and equitable for it to be so under Section 124(a) of The Insolvency Act. The petition brought by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills had been supported by four creditors with claims totalling c£2,582,000.

The director was not present however the Winding Up Order was not contested. In a statement read out by the Registrar to the Court Mr Gundlach admitted that the Company had purchased insufficient wine to fulfil customer orders. Wine prices had again, according to the director, been inflated by 60% although an investigator had suggested this to be more in the region of 350% given much of the wine had not actually been purchased. The Registrar further commented “It is clear from evidence before me that they did not purchase sufficient wine to fulfil orders”.

The level of indebtedness to the Company could not be quantified at the hearing with The Public Interest Unit suggesting at least £8m as being due to investors as well as HMRC’s claim in the proceedings being c£8m. The director in response to the Public Interest Unit had previously stated “On current allocation £12m of investors will not get wine”.

It was reported in court that the Metropolitan Police have been investigating. 

A meeting of creditors will now take place in London at The Official Receivers Office, 2nd Floor, 4 Abbey Orchard Street, London, SW1P 2HT.  The potential date put to the hearing was 14 March 2014 at 15.00 specifically to appoint an insolvency practitioner, however this date has yet to be confirmed.  The Official Receiver has deemed it appropriate to convene such a meeting given the unknown level of creditors to further ascertain creditor wishes. It should be noted the director is not duty bound to attend the meeting and it is thought highly unlikely he would do so.

Jim:

I’m very grateful to Samantha Street of Grant Thornton for the above summary of this morning’s hearing. If Kenneth Gundlach, the sole director of Bordeaux Fine Wines, is correct in his estimate that investors will not see £12 million worth of wine they purchased, then this is a very substantial shortage. The shortage in last year’s Nouveau World Wines/Finbow totaled some £4.5 million.

Grant Thornton

(I’m happy to post this message on behalf of Grant Thornton for information. Any other insolvency practitioners looking to act as liquidator to Bordeaux Fine Wines Ltd can contact me about posting a similar notice.)

'David Ingram of Grant Thornton UK LLP has been nominated to act as Liquidator by other creditors and as such should anyone involved in the purchase of wine through Bordeaux Fine Wines wish to understand how Grant Thornton UK LLP can represent their interests in this matter please do contact Samantha Street, a manager at Grant Thornton, at samantha.j.street@uk.gt.com or alternatively 0207 728 2651.

Grant Thornton have successfully dealt with a number of wine investment companies making good recoveries for investors noting there will be no charge to investors in making a nomination for David Ingram to be appointed to act.

FInD specialise in tracing and recovering assets and are a national team together with an international reach with a presence in all offshore financial centres. They have recovered assets from many jurisdictions and are currently successfully recovering monies for victims of various investment scams, including off plan property developments, mortgage fraud and boiler room fraud, in the UK, Spain, Caribbean, USA, the Middle East and other overseas jurisdictions.

For further information regarding Grant Thornton's insolvency investigation services please visit http://www.grant-thornton.co.uk/en/Services/Recovery--Reorganisation/Fraud-Insolvency-Division-FInD/'

Grand Thornton fraud recovery section: change of contact details

Contact details@Grant Thornton fraud recovery service have changed:

You should now contact David Martin on 020 7865-2878
E-mail: david.p.martin@uk.gt.com  

Message from James Kehoe:   
I have been receiving regular calls regarding wine fraud however I will be participating in new projects going forward. In future Hannah Davie will be managing these cases along with David Martin. 
 

Finbow Wines Limited/Nouveau World Wines Limited: URGENT ACTION REQUIRED: Grant Thornton a candidate to be appointed liquidator

I'm happy to post this notice at the request of Grant Thornton. See also here. 

"Finbow Wines Limited - In Liquidation & Nouveau World Wines Limited - In Liquidation


URGENT ACTION REQUIRED


30 March 2011 - Meeting of creditors to appoint an insolvency practitioner to act as liquidator


The Fraud Insolvency Division (FInD) at Grant Thornton UK LLP have been approached by in excess of £1m in value of investors to act as joint liquidators in the matter of Finbow Wines Limited at a meeting of creditors to be held at The Official Receiver's offices in London at 10.30am on 30 March 2011.  

Nick Wood and David Ingram are also happy to accept nominations to be appointed as joint liquidators of Nouveau World Wines Limited, a company connected to Finbow Wines Limited in order, at the Official Receiver's request, to allow the two liquidations to be dealt with by the same firm. We have successfully dealt with a number of wine investment companies making good recoveries for investors. There is likely to have been movement of monies and stock between the 2 companies and it would be more cost efficient for creditors to have both companies dealt with by the same liquidator.

Nominations must be lodged with the Official Receiver by noon today, however late nominations will still be lodged with the Official Receiver and may still be accepted.

Should you be an investor in Nouveau World Wines Limited and wish to discuss this process and the forms required or wish to nominate Nick Wood and David Ingram of Grant Thornton UK LLP please contact Samantha Locke at Grant Thornton UK LLP as a matter of urgency on 0207 728 2651 or alternatively email her at samantha.j.locke@uk.gt.com.

There will be no charge to investors in making this nomination and a report of the outcome of the meeting will be provided at no cost.

For further information regarding Grant Thornton's insolvency investigation services please visit http://www.grant-thornton.co.uk/intermediaries/fraud_insolvency_division.aspx FInD's fees can be conditional upon recoveries made and therefore creditors may not need to fund recoveries and spend further money thereby throwing 'good' money after 'bad'.

FInD specialise in tracing and recovering assets and are a national team together with an international reach with a presence in all offshore financial centres. They have recovered assets from many jurisdictions and are currently successfully recovering monies for victims of various investment scams, including off plan property developments, mortgage fraud and boiler room fraud, in the UK, Spain, Caribbean, USA, the Middle East and other overseas jurisdictions.

They have a proven track record and sector expertise and are currently running over 600 asset recovery cases. They regularly work with various police fraud squads, the Serious Fraud Office and the Crown Prosecution Service."

Help offered from Grant Thornton's Fraud Insolvency Division

I have been contacted by Paul Pretlove of Grant Thornton's Fraud Insolvency Division. He suggests that it may be possible for this division of Grant Thornton to assist victims in recovering funds that have been lost to fraud.

I'm very happy to post the following details about their service. Obviously anyone interested needs to discuss their situation with Grant Thornton and decide whether this service suits their needs.    

"The Fraud Insolvency Division (FInD) at Grant Thornton UK LLP (http://www.grant-thornton.co.uk/intermediaries/fraud_insolvency_division.aspx) might be able to help you recover your position. Their fees are often conditional upon recovering the money and therefore you may not need to spend further money pursuing it.

FInD concentrate on recovering funds for the victims of fraud, unlike a criminal investigation that aims to secure a conviction. The two are not mutually exclusive and evidence gathered in the course of the civil action is often used in a subsequent criminal prosecution.

FInD is a national team with an international reach with a presence in all offshore financial centres. They have recovered the proceeds of fraud from many jurisdictions and are currently successfully recovering monies for victims of various investment scams, including off plan property developments, mortgage fraud and staged car accident scams, in the UK, Spain, Caribbean, Egypt, Canary Islands, the Middle East and other overseas jurisdictions.

They have a proven track record and sector expertise and are currently running over 600 fraud recovery related cases. They regularly work with various police fraud squads, the Serious Fraud Office and the Crown Prosecution Service.

Please do contact them at winefraud@gtuk.com with any further enquiries."