Nine people have been indicted as part of the investigation into a major ticketing scam at the Louvre, estimated to have cost the world's most visited museum more than €10 million, the Paris public prosecutor's office has said.
The Paris public prosecutor's office has announced the indictment of nine people in an investigation into alleged ticket fraud at the Louvre, the world's most visited museum.
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The scam is believed to have lasted for a decade and amounted to a €10 million loss for the museum.
The arrests were made on Tuesday, following a judicial investigation opened after the Louvre filed a complaint in December 2024, the public prosecutor's office said.
One person, remaining in custody in accordance with the prosecutor's orders, was charged with organised fraud, use of forged documents, aiding the entry and movement of a foreigner within an organised gang, active corruption, aggravated money laundering, and participation in a criminal association.
Eight others have been indicted for the same offences, but left free under judicial supervision, the judicial source added.
The museum's losses over the last ten years are estimated at more than €10 million, according to the same source.
Among those arrested were two Louvre employees, several tourist guides and an individual suspected of masterminding the operation, according to the public prosecutor's office.
The museum alerted investigators to the frequent presence of two Chinese tourist guides, suspected of bringing groups of Chinese tourists to the museum by fraudulently reusing the same tickets for different visitors. Other guides were subsequently suspected of similar practices.
The public prosecutor's office said that surveillance and telephone tapping confirmed the repeated reuse of tickets and an apparent strategy of splitting tourist groups in order to avoid paying the conference allowance imposed on the guides.
The investigation also implicated alleged accomplices within the Louvre, who were paid in cash by the guides to bypass ticket controls.
A formal judicial investigation was opened last June on charges including organised gang fraud, money laundering, corruption, aiding illegal entry into the country as a group and using false administrative documents.
Profits laundered into property
Investigators estimate that this network brought in up to 20 groups of tourists a day over the last ten years.
The suspects are believed to have invested some of the money in property in France and Dubai. The authorities seized more than €957,000 in cash, including €67,000 in foreign currency, as well as €486,000 in bank accounts.
The public prosecutor's office referred to a suspected similar ticket fraud at the Château de Versailles, without providing further details.
In October, the theft of the Crown Jewels from the Louvre drew worldwide attention to the museum. A team of four people broke in through a window during opening hours and stole treasures worth an estimated €88 million. Several suspects have been arrested in the case, but the stolen objects are still missing.
Since mid-December, the Louvre has also been facing a strike by its staff, who are complaining about their working conditions. A new general meeting of staff is scheduled for Monday to vote on whether or not to hold another day of strike action.
