In France, where several robbers involved in the Louvre robbery were arrested in the fall, there have been new arrests of art “connoisseurs.”
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According to Le Parisien, nine people were detained, including two Louvre employees and two tour guides.
French law enforcement has uncovered a massive ticket fraud and overbooking scam that caused an estimated 10 million euros in damage to the Louvre Museum and the Palace of Versailles.
Over 957,000 euros in cash (including 67,000 euros in foreign currency) and 486,000 euros in various bank accounts were seized from the fraudsters. Among the seized assets were three cars and several bank safes.
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The publication, citing the Paris prosecutor's office, notes that the investigation began with a complaint filed by the Louvre in December 2024, in which the authorities were informed of “the frequent presence in the museum of several guides of Chinese origin who fraudulently brought groups of tourists,” using the same tickets for different people.
Surveillance and wiretaps confirmed that tickets were reused multiple times and groups were split up to avoid paying tour guides for the right to conduct tours. At the time, investigators suspected that tour guides involved in the scheme may have paid cash to their Louvre accomplices to avoid inspections.
During the investigation, it was found that the perpetrators could bring up to 20 such groups of tourists during the day. According to preliminary data, the scheme operated for a decade.
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The fraudsters are suspected of investing some of the money they obtained through criminal means in real estate in both France and Dubai.
Let us recall that last fall, not only the Louvre was robbed, but also the Diderot Museum – the robbers took part of the numismatic treasure from there.
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