'Scam, forgery... and a £70k Scots island whisky deal that has turned distinctly sour'

By MARK HOWARTH FOR THE SCOTTISH MAIL ON SUNDAY Published: 19:32, 15 August 2026 | Updated: 19:33, 15 August 2026 For hundreds of years, Islay has been a hub for highly prized whiskies, with its wind-blown sea salt and peat said to imbue drams there with unique characteristics. However, a sheriff is now considering a very different whisky tale involving the island after two people who moved there became embroiled in a bitter legal case raised by a trader from the Netherlands. Dutchman Pierre Sauren, 43, is pursuing Isaias Cuartero and his wife Marta Arroyo through the courts as he looks to recoup more than £70,000 he claims they owe him. Mr Sauren travelled hundreds of miles last week to attend Campbeltown Sheriff Court for a hearing in the civil case he has raised against the Spanish couple. Court papers allege Mr Sauren agreed to loan them £50,000 on the agreement it would be paid back to him the following month with an additional £26,400 loan fee. Laying out his argument to the sheriff, Mr Sauren said Mr Cuartero told him the money would be used to fund the trade of whisky casks to China. When he didn’t receive the money, he became suspicious and contacted other people, including some Islay locals, to find out more about the couple’s dealings. However, the case took a twist when Ms Arroyo told the court that her signature on a contract outlining the agreement had been forged and that she knew nothing of the deal. Mr Sauren said he believes Mr Cuartero, who seems to have vanished, had been ‘scamming’ people. He told the court: ‘With better research, maybe I shouldn’t have done it. I found he was scamming a lot of people. ‘I know the profit sounds extreme but with the right cask it is absolutely easy to do. ‘I got a bit suspicious when they did not pay. I did my own research and found he has more problems with locals on Islay.’ For hundreds of years, Islay has been a hub for highly prized whiskies The court heard the scheme was to be used to fund the trade of whisky casks to China . Mr Sauren (above) claimed that he believes Mr Cuartero secured ‘hundreds of thousands of pounds’ from people who agreed to give him money. Mr Sauren – who owns the Dutch dealership Whisky Exclusive – said he confronted Ms Arroyo at the couple’s home in Port Ellen, but she claimed ignorance. He told the court he and others had contacted Police Scotland to report that they had been defrauded but no arrests followed. He also claimed that he believes Mr Cuartero secured ‘hundreds of thousands of pounds’ from people who agreed to give him money. Referring to the jailing of SNP chief executive Peter Murrell for embezzlement, he added: ‘The husband of the First Minister gets five years for £400,000 yet these people are still free.’ Mr Cuartero did not respond to Mr Sauren’s writ and was not represented at the hearing. In evidence, Ms Arroyo claimed the couple separated in 2022 after she discovered he had arranged an overdraft on her bank account without her permission, but they had continued to live in the same property for a period of time. She said she first became aware of the deal with Mr Sauren when the Dutchman began contacting locals. Ms Arroyo said: ‘One of my friends showed me an email going around Islay from someone I’d never met in my life. ‘I asked Isaias, “What’s going on?” He said he had an agreement with him.’ She added: ‘Isaias took money without my consent… Since then I lost trust. He was not really honest.’ Ms Arroyo, 43, claims she has had no contact with Mr Cuartero since 2024, and insisted she too had been to the police to report her forged signature. Graphologist Hannah Pocock told the court it was ‘more than likely’ that somebody else had faked her name on the contract but admitted under cross-examination that it was ‘not impossible’ that the signature was genuine. Sheriff Thomas McCartney will deliver his judgment in the coming weeks. Mr Cuartero, who worked as a bar manager, was sequestrated at Campbeltown Sheriff Court in his absence in 2023 by a local couple looking to retrieve their investment of £120,000. Police Scotland said they had received ‘a number of reports in relation to fraud on the Isle of Islay and inquiries remain ongoing’, though none relate to forgery.