Tony Hetherington is the Financial Mail's lead investigator on Sunday, battling with readers, revealing the truth hidden behind closed doors and bringing victories to those left without resources. Find out how to contact him below.
Silent: Former footballer Sam Williams is listed as the owner of Linc Drinks
EL writes: I received an email offering a Linc Drinks loan bond at an interest rate of 12%. Is this another case of an investment that is too good to be true?
Tony Hetherington replies: Yes! The email received shows that Linc Drinks will raise more than £3 million through a bond issue, with the company being valued at £150 million by December.
He argues that the drinks industry is “perfectly positioned to be taken over” by a leading drinks company such as Diageo. Complete garbage!
The email did not emphasize that these bonds would be converted into shares of Linc Drinks. However, the company is not listed on a stock exchange, which means that shares cannot be converted into cash. The announcement does not explain the terms of the conversion or whether investors have the option to withdraw their money.
It claims to be from the investment company Millbak. There is a real company with this name, but it is also a victim of Linc Drinks. Its boss, Stuart Gibbons, was persuaded to become a non-executive director to help him raise funds, but it emerged that his name and that of his company had been misused.
The scammers behind this email created a “shadow” version of Millbak with the website millbakcapital.com.
The document stated: “Millbak Ltd is owned by Citrus Fund Platform regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission.”
Linc Drinks said Millbak boss Gibbons “is the founder and owner of our regulated customer onboarding partners, Citrus Fund Platform, which is regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission.”
Impressive claims, so I asked the Jersey regulator whether Citrus had been allowed to lend its name to the bond offering and whether Gibbons really owned it
Citrus? FSC didn't respond, so I went to Jersey's capital, St. Helier, and I showed up in front of the FSC headquarters with my evidence, but the regulator refused to meet with me.
The email said it would “review the information.” Since then, FSC's only communication has been a request for all documents, refusing to comment or even say what Citrus may have done under the terms of registration.
My trip wasn't completely wasted when I entered the impressive Citrus offices. I asked to see Gibbons. The receptionist had no idea who he was and said no one had heard of him.
So I contacted him in London and told him that, according to Linc Drinks, investors had been “engaged” by Jersey-based Citrus. He said, “One hundred percent wrong.”
He told me he “knew nothing” about the millbakcapital website and raged: “It's outrageous.”
So how did he get roped into any role at Linc Drinks? Gibbons told me, “I know Amit Kochhar, he's my connection to Linc Drinks.”
If Kochhar's name sounds familiar, it's because last Sunday I reported that his cannabis company Cannadex had defaulted on its loan bonds. Now he's here with a new bond offering.
Linc Drinks is owned on paper by former Aston Villa player Sam Williams, but his Mayfair office didn't recognize Williams' name and he didn't call me back. Kochhar was no longer talkative.
Gibbons said: “I have issued a cease and desist letter so I hope the Millbakcapital website and mentions of me, Millbak and Citrus will be removed.”
He also managed to lock £30,000 in investment preparation and this amount will be refunded.
It is unclear what will happen to the money already invested in the fraudulently sold Linc Drinks bonds.
If you believe you are a victim of financial abuse, please write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Due to the high volume of inquiries, personal responses cannot be provided. Please only send copies of original documents, which unfortunately we cannot return.
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