French police have arrested nine people, including two Louvre employees and several tour guides, over a suspected £8.7 million ticket fraud scheme at the Paris museum. The Paris prosecutors' office said the alleged mastermind was also among those detained.
The Louvre, the world's most visited museum, reported the suspected scam to police, triggering an investigation. According to reports, the fraud involved tour guides reusing the same tickets multiple times for different visitors, particularly targeting Chinese tour groups. Investigators believe the network may have brought in up to 20 tour groups a day over the past decade.
The alleged scam also involved splitting up groups to avoid paying a required 'speaking fee' for guides. Suspected accomplices within the museum were paid cash to bypass ticket checks. A formal judicial investigation was opened in June on charges including organised fraud, money laundering, corruption, and use of forged documents.
Authorities have seized over €957,000 in cash and €486,000 from bank accounts. Suspects are believed to have invested some proceeds in real estate in France and Dubai. The Louvre stated it was facing a rise in ticket fraud and had implemented an anti-fraud plan.
The arrests are the latest crisis for the museum, which also suffered a daylight heist in October when €88m of crown jewels were stolen, and a water leak in the Denon gallery last Friday.
