Awards and citations:


1997: Le Prix du Champagne Lanson Noble Cuvée Award for investigations into Champagne for the Millennium investment scams

2001: Le Prix Champagne Lanson Ivory Award for investdrinks.org

2011: Vindic d'Or MMXI – 'Meilleur blog anti-1855'

2011: Robert M. Parker, Jnr: ‘This blogger...’:

2012: Born Digital Wine Awards: No Pay No Jay – best investigative wine story

2012: International Wine Challenge – Personality of the Year Award




Wednesday 28 October 2009

The questions Pancho Campo MW won’t answer

Pancho Campo MW as he appears on Interpol

I emailed some questions to Pancho Campo MW yesterday. Unfortunately I have received no reply from Pancho, nor to questions emailed to him on 6th October 2009. In particular he has declined to answer probably the most crucial question – what was the source of the finance used to set up the Wine Academy of Spain in 2003. Thus it remains unknown whether any proceeds from the fraud in Dubai were used to establish the Wine Academy of Spain.

Copy of a letter emailed to Pancho Campo MW yesterday.

27th October 2009

Dear Pancho

I’m sorry not to have received a response to my email of 6th October 2009) outlining the contents of the postings on Jim’s Loire (7th October 2009 – Pancho Campo – the essence and Pancho Campo – timeline.

As I have had no response to neither my email nor to the two postings on Jim’s Loire, I assume you that are not contesting that the following events/facts are correct.

5th June 2002: You were charged with breach of trust in a Dubai court involving 640,000€. This is a criminal offence. You surrendered your Chilean passport to the court. There was also a civil case brought by Jackie Wartanian through her lawyer Amma Al Jallaf of Ince & Co (Dubai). Both the criminal and civil cases are now closed.

February 2003: You left Dubai fully aware that you had been charged and that you would be facing a trial, although the date of the trial may not have been fixed at the time you left. You left Dubai using your Spanish passport.

1st June 2003: You were found guilty in absentia of breach of trust (fraud on the Interpol website) and sentenced to one year in prison to be followed by deportation

2003 The Wine Academy of Spain was founded.

There are still some questions that I would like to ask you please:

a) When you were based in Dubai (UAE) did you have a tourist or a work visa? Was this visa in your Chilean passport?

b) How did you leave Dubai in February 2003 – plane, boat or overland? Did you indeed use your Spanish passport? What type of UAE/Dubai visa was in it – tourist or work? How did you obtain a second visa?

c) What was the name of your lawyer in Dubai?

d) What was the outcome of the civil case?

e) (question not published)

f) What was the source of the founding of The Wine Academy of Spain when it was set up in 2003? Was any of the 640,000€ on which you were convicted of breach of trust (fraud) in Dubai (1st June 2003) used to establish The Wine Academy of Spain?

g) Does any profit made by WineFuture Rioja09 go to The Wine Academy of Spain?

h) Pancho Campo's Wine Future presentation (in Spanish), pt 1 by Zev Robinson (http://vimeo.com/4858630) you claim to be a doctor ("Como medico que soy. . ." 9.40 mins in). Where did you study, where did you qualify and when? Have you ever practised as a doctor?

i) You say that when you travel to Chile you use a Chilean passport. How did you obtain a new Chilean passport when your old one had been surrendered to a Dubai court?

k) How do your lawyers expect to do anything about your conviction for fraud? Are you considering an appeal and, if so, on what grounds?

I will be making a new post on Jim’s Loire at noon (UK time) tomorrow (28th Oct).

Many thanks

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards

Jim

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