France detains nine in probe over alleged $11.8 mln Louvre ticket fraud

French police arrested nine people in an investigation ​into a Louvre ticket fraud that ​may have cost the world's most ‌visited ​museum 10 million euros ($11.86 million) in revenues, the Paris prosecutor's office said on Friday. Those in custody include two Louvre officials, several guides ‌and one person described as the organiser of the ring, it said in a statement. Police also seized almost one million euros in cash and almost 500,000 euros parked in bank accounts.

The ‌dismantling of a potential wide-scale fraud scheme adds to a spate of setbacks at the ‌museum - including a spectacular jewel heist, a water leak that damaged ancient books, and strikes - that have put its management under intense scrutiny. The investigation began as the Louvre flagged in December 2024 the presence of two Chinese ⁠guides who ​were suspected of getting ⁠groups of Chinese tourists into the museum re-using single-entry tickets for different people.

After more than a year of checks, ⁠police identified a fully-fledged network that may have let in fraudulently up to 20 groups of tourists per ​day over a decade-long period while bribing Louvre officials to turn a blind eye. The ⁠ring is suspected of having invested the proceeds in real estate in France and Dubai.

The prosecutor's office said the ⁠ring ​had perpetrated the same kind of ticket fraud at the Palace of Versailles, though it did not elaborate. "The Louvre Museum is facing a resurgence and diversification of ticket fraud," a ⁠spokesperson told Reuters. In response, the museum's management has drawn up a plan to prevent cheating and ⁠punish fraudsters, she said.

A ⁠Palace of Versailles spokesperson declined to comment. Last month the Louvre raised ticket prices by 45% for most non-European Union tourists to help finance ‌renovations.

($1 = 0.8430 ‌euros)