A flashy Chinese hedge fund firm once celebrated as part of the country’s elite “100 billion yuan club” has landed in hot water over a bizarre wine-smuggling scheme involving Hong Kong warehouses, underground border runners and dodged taxes. Read More
Crime
A British man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in New York over a US$97 million fine wine investment fraud that ensnared investors globally including at least 10 victims in Hong Kong. Read More
Chinese authorities have dismantled a major counterfeit baijiu operation that sold fake “vintage” versions of top brands through livestreaming platforms, with the case valued at about 260 million yuan (US$36 million). Read More
Italian authorities have seized about 2.5 million litres of falsely certified wine, valued at more than €4 million ($4.3 million), in a nationwide crackdown on fraud in the country’s wine sector. Read More
Treasury Wine Estates has scored a major courtroom victory in China, winning more than $10 million in damages after a years-long fight against a wine brand accused of mimicking its iconic Penfolds label. Read More
A massive cross-border booze smuggling ring has been busted in southern China after authorities seized more than half a million bottles of wine and premium spirits worth over RMB 575 million (US$80 million). Read More
A baijiu distributor in northern China says he was beaten and left hospitalised after confronting a state-owned liquor boss over an unpaid bill worth about US$110,000. Read More
Smugglers used “water mules” to move high-tariff wine and spirits across the Macau border as trade policies widened price gaps. Read More
Chinese authorities say smugglers used “parallel traders” to funnel premium spirits and cigars from Macau into the mainland, evading more than RMB 3.16 million in taxes amid widening cross-border price gaps. Read More
Chinese authorities arrested three suspects and seized more than 4,300 bottles of finished and semi-finished fake Penfolds in Hubei province. Read More