Paris prosecutors say nine people, including two staff, are being detained as part of an investigation into a suspected decade-long €10 million ticket fraud scheme at the Louvre, the world's most visited museum.
The arrests took place on Tuesday as part of a judicial investigation opened after the Louvre filed a complaint in December 2024, the prosecutors’ office said on Thursday.
The loss for the museum over the past decade is estimated to exceed €10 million, it said. Part of it was allegedly invested in real estate in France and Dubai.
Among the arrests are two Louvre employees, several tour guides and one person suspected of being the mastermind, according to the prosecutors’ office.
The scandal comes just months after four thieves carried out a robbery in October, making off with jewellery worth an estimated €85 million.
Chinese tourists targeted
The museum alerted investigators to the frequent presence of two Chinese tour guides suspected of bringing groups of Chinese tourists into the museum by fraudulently reusing the same tickets multiple times for different visitors.
Other guides were later suspected of similar practices.
The 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.
The investigation also pointed to suspected accomplices within the Louvre, with guides allegedly paying them cash in exchange for avoiding ticket checks, it said.
Louvre Museum to hike ticket price by 45 percent for non-EU visitors
Louvre under pressure
The famed museum has been in the spotlight in recent months. Its director has admitted to "terrible failure" over security failings that allowed thieves to steal jewels in broad daylight.
Authorities have arrested all four alleged members of the heist crew, but have not found the jewels.
Trade unions have called several days of strikes at the Louvre, pressing for more recruitment, more pay and better maintenance of the vast former royal palace.
(with newswires)
