Northern Myanmar’s notorious cyber fraud syndicates — long associated with telecom swindles, kidnappings, and extortion — have found an unlikely new hook: fine wine investment. Read More
Crime
South Korean customs authorities say international drug traffickers are disguising narcotics as everyday consumer goods — including wine — as part of increasingly sophisticated smuggling operations into Asia. Read More
Chinese police have busted more than 540 criminal cases involving counterfeit “special supply liquor,” seizing 260,000 bottles worth 3.7 billion yuan (US$515 million), the Ministry of Public Security said Tuesday. Read More
In Taiwan, a licensed liquor merchant and his associates stand accused of bottling bootleg spirits in recycled Hennessy and Dalmore bottles — and selling them as the real thing. For a year, no one noticed. Read More
For a man with a doctorate and overseas education, Gong Yimin’s downfall was surprisingly pedestrian: whisky. Not just any whisky, but thousands of bottles of premium Scotch, slipped past Chinese customs under the radar — and vastly undervalued. Read More
Spanish authorities have uncovered yet another wine counterfeiting operation involving fake Rioja wines exported to China—marking the second such case aimed at the Asian market that Spanish police have cracked in 2025. Read More
With just a junior high school education, Zhuang built one of China’s largest alcohol smuggling rings, evading $20 million in taxes and exposing a vast underground network exploiting e-commerce and Hong Kong trade routes. Read More
A Chinese winery has been fined after authorities seized more than 1,500 bottles of sparkling wine falsely labeled as Champagne, the latest in a string of trademark infringement cases involving European wine regions in China. Read More
A Singaporean man has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison for masterminding a fraudulent wine investment scheme that defrauded investors of over SGD 12.6 million, authorities said. Read More
A landmark trademark infringement case involving Australian wine giant Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) and its flagship Penfolds brand has been officially recognised by China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC). Read More