Overview
- Paris prosecutors say nine suspects were detained on February 10, including two Louvre employees and several tour guides.
- Officials estimate roughly €10 million was siphoned through practices such as reusing the same tickets for multiple visitors and splitting tour groups to avoid guide fees.
- Surveillance and phone taps indicated cash payments to alleged insiders who bypassed checks, with many targeted groups identified as Chinese tour parties.
- Police reported seizures of more than €957,000 in cash, €486,000 in bank accounts, three vehicles and bank safe-deposit boxes, while tracing suspected real-estate investments in France and Dubai.
- A formal judicial probe opened in June 2025 covers organized fraud, money laundering, corruption, facilitation of illegal entry and use of false documents, following a Louvre complaint filed in late 2024 and an internal anti-fraud drive.