Decanter World Wine AwardsRudy Kurniawan arrested in Los Angeles
- Friday 9 March 2012
The 35-year-old was arrested in Los Angeles yesterday by the FBI on charges – filed in New York – of trying to sell counterfeit wine that would have been worth US$1.3m if genuine.
The case against Kurniawan is that in 2008 he consigned some 84 bottles purporting to be from Domaine Ponsot in Burgundy, including one from 1929, which was impossible as the estate did not begin bottling until 1934.
Other bottles were labelled 1945-1971 from the Clos St Denis vineyard by Dme Ponsot, but the domaine did not make wine from that vineyard until 1982.
The bottles were withdrawn from the auction, run by Acker Merrall and Condit, at the request of the domaine.
Kurniawan has also been charged with fraudulently obtaining loans.
The Indonesian-born collector who is resident in the USA has long been a fixture of the international ultra-fine wine scene.
His clientele included billionaire collector William I Koch, who named him in one of his myriad lawsuits, claiming he had been sold counterfeit bottles emanating from Kurniawan.
His name surfaced again earlier this year when it was alleged dozens of lots of suspect Burgundy from Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, withdrawn from a London auction run by California auction house Spectrum and London merchant Vanquish, had been consigned by Kurniawan.
The auction house categorically denied the bottles were from Kurniawan.
Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement, ‘Mr Kurniawan's days of wine and wealth are over, if the allegations in this case are proven. Rudy Kurniawan held himself out to be a wine aficionado with a nose for a counterfeit bottle, but he was the counterfeit.’
- Anthony Rose examines the Spectrum/Vanquish auction and the withdrawn bottles of DRC in this month's Decanter magazine, out now
Have your say!
Laurent Ponsot
March 11 02:42
Just a quick reaction…
The FBI is not working at all for or with Bill Koch.
In fact, after the famous sales at Acker in April 2008, I decided to start a cruisade against the fakers.
Since, in the dark, with no show off, I work on this case.
Even if I tried to get help from other wineries, I have been quite lonely on my way…
RK arrested is the result of nearly four years of my own investigations around the world.
Since two years now, I am in close contact with FBI agents devoted to the case of fakes wines.
And we have had multiple meetings in New York to work on this together.
I was in Manhattan late February and we had two long work sessions on Tuesday 28th and Wednesday 29th.
Rudy was arrested with the precise instructions I gave to FBI agents during these work sessions.
And now, I think that his accomplices should also be identified and arrested, even if they are in France, Hong Kong or anywhere on the planet.
It is impossible that Rudy had the knowledge on so multiple wineries.
When it is quite easy to find real samples of old Bordeaux wines bottles in order to copy them, it is nearly impossible for Burgundies.
Rudy has been advised by someone with extensive knowledge of a very complicated Burgundy.
I know who it is, but in the current state of the investigation, I keep this information secret.
Rudy himself should denounce his informants and his accomplices.
My reaction is only based on justice : it had to happen.
And I have been more than active in the process.
This had to be said.
bruce nichols
March 09 13:50
All the more reason to always, always, always buy from a trusted source.
Tracing the provenance of wines of this pedigree can be extremely difficult, if not impossible!