Churchill Associates

Barclays Bank continued processing checks for an offshore-based wine investment group even after it learned of a regulatory warning in the U. S. and then then refused to co-operate with the group's liquidator after it collapsed amid allegations of fraud, it has been claimed.The allegations are contained in a civil complaint filed by Christopher Johnson, as liquidator of Cayman Islands-registered Architects of Wine Ltd., at the U. K. High Court of Justice, Queen's Bench Division, Commercial Court on March 9, 2006. AOWL is seeking to recover $1.3 million from sole defendant Barclays Bank, of London, England, alleging conversion.

Two new lawsuits have been filed in the United States by investors in a wine-based investment scheme operated from the Cayman Islands, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The plaintiffs claim to have lost more than $1.5 million in Architects of Wine and related parties after being induced to invest by promises of high returns and liquidity that never materialized. Instead, they claim their funds were misappropriated.

A controversial wine based investment firm appears to have abandoned the Cayman Islands in the wake of Hurricane Ivan - allegedly leaving behind substantial debts.Architects of Wine Ltd. closed down its Grand Cayman office in September, owing rent and several