Louvre Ticket Fraud Worth €10M
The Louvre in Paris revealed a decade-long counterfeit ticket scheme worth an estimated €10 million. Officials called such fraud "statistically inevitable" given the museum's scale of operations with 9 million annual visitors.
- The scheme, which specifically targeted Chinese tour groups, involved tour guides reusing the same tickets for multiple entries and splitting groups to evade reservation fees. - Nine individuals were arrested in connection with the fraud, including two Louvre employees and several tour guides, with one person suspected of being the ring's organizer. - During the investigation, police seized over €957,000 in cash and an additional €486,000 from various bank accounts. - The Louvre first reported its suspicions about two tour guides to the police in December 2024, which led to a formal judicial investigation launched in June of the following year. - Proceeds from the decade-long operation are believed to have been invested in real estate in both France and Dubai. - This is not the only type of ticket fraud the Louvre has faced; in 2023, the illegal resale of free passes cost the museum an estimated €4 million, and in 2024, fake websites and stolen bank data resulted in another €2 million in losses. - In response to the "resurgence and diversification of ticket fraud," the Louvre has announced it is developing a structured anti-fraud plan in cooperation with the police. - There are also indications that a similar ticket fraud scheme was operating at the Palace of Versailles.
