World
October 16, 2024 11:50
italy, france, turin, milan - An international gang managed to sell 'exclusive' wines for up to 15,000 euros, but recent arrests revealed their fraudulent activities.
An international gang of fraudsters managed to sell 'exclusive' wines for prices as high as 15,000 euros around the world. However, their criminal activities recently came to light when the Italian and French police collaborated to apprehend the gang. Investigations revealed that the wines didn't even deserve to be called 'slop wine'.
The bottles featured labels from renowned French vineyards. Six individuals were eventually arrested, including a 40-year-old Russian who is suspected to be the leader of the gang, as announced by Europol.
Raids were conducted at fourteen locations, including Turin and Milan, where large quantities of wine from various forged Grand Cru estates, luxury items, and electronic equipment worth 1.4 million euros, along with over 100,000 euros in cash, were seized.
The counterfeit wine was transformed into the most exclusive wines in Italy, mimicking those normally found in expensive restaurants costing thousands of euros. The 'expensive' bottles, after receiving new labels, were transported to the Italian airport for global sale. The group reportedly made 2 million euros from this fraud, as per French prosecutors.
Police also discovered connections to two investigations from 2015 involving manufacturers of corks, caps, and label printers. Another Russian individual emerged during further examination, revealing commercial transactions between Italy and Switzerland. Similar counterfeit-labeled bottles were found during that time as well.
According to the BBC, wine fraud has a long history, with counterfeiters passing off ordinary wine as expensive ones. The market has become lucrative for criminals due to the high prices fetched by Grand Crus. Italy is said to be at the core of this type of fraud because of its wine expertise: craftsmen skilled in labeling and ancient bottles and corks, along with a criminal underworld ready to invest.