French police arrest nine people over suspected 10m Louvre ticket fraud

"French police investigating a suspected 10m (8.7m) ticket fraud scheme at the Louvre museum in Paris have detained nine people, including two members of staff. Based on the information available to the museum, we suspect the existence of a network organising large-scale fraud, a museum spokesperson told Agence France-Presse. The Louvre, the world's most visited museum, reported the suspected scam to police which led to the arrests."

"Two Louvre employees, several tour guides and one person suspected of being the mastermind were among those being held, according to the Paris prosecutors' office. It is the latest crisis to hit the Louvre, which is still reeling from a heist on 19 October, when a gang raided the museum during daylight hours, breaking in through a window and stealing an estimated 88m of French crown jewels in seven minutes, before fleeing on scooters."

"The guides allegedly brought in visitors by re-using the same tickets several times for different people. Investigators are working to establish whether the network may have brought in up to 20 tour groups a day over the past decade. The Paris prosecutors' office said surveillance and wiretaps confirmed repeated ticket reuse and an apparent strategy of splitting up tour groups to avoid paying the required speaking fee imposed on guides,"

French police detained nine people, including two Louvre employees and several tour guides, in a probe of an alleged 10m (8.7m) ticket-fraud network operating at the museum. Investigators suspect the network recycled the same tickets for multiple visitors, targeted groups of Chinese tourists, split groups to evade mandatory speaking fees, and possibly brought in up to 20 tour groups per day over the past decade. Surveillance and wiretaps are reported to have confirmed repeated ticket reuse and payments to alleged accomplices inside the Louvre to avoid ticket checks. The museum has implemented a structured anti-fraud plan and reported the case to police.

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