Louvre museum ticket fraud scheme costs Paris landmark over $11 million in decade-long scam

Don’t miss the full story, whose reporting from Sylvie Corbet at The Associated Press is the basis of this artificial intelligence-assisted article.

Nine people have been detained in Paris in connection with a suspected decade-long ticket fraud scheme at the Louvre museum that allegedly defrauded the institution of more than 10 million euros.

Some key facts:

• Nine individuals, including two Louvre employees, several tour guides and one alleged mastermind, were arrested on Tuesday as part of the investigation.

• The fraud scheme is estimated to have cost the Louvre more than 10 million euros ($11.8 million) over the past decade.

• Chinese tour guides are suspected of fraudulently reusing the same tickets multiple times for different visitors and splitting tour groups to avoid required speaking fees.

• The judicial investigation was opened in June 2024 on charges including organized fraud, money laundering, corruption and use of forged administrative documents.

• Investigators believe the network may have brought in up to 20 tour groups per day over the past 10 years.

• Authorities seized more than 957,000 euros ($1.13 million) in cash and 486,000 euros ($576,374) from bank accounts, with suspects believed to have invested proceeds in real estate in France and Dubai.

• Surveillance and wiretaps revealed guides allegedly paid Louvre accomplices cash in exchange for avoiding ticket checks.

• Similar ticket fraud is suspected to have occurred at the Palace of Versailles, according to prosecutors.

READ MORE: Police in France detain 9 people in suspected massive Louvre ticket fraud scheme