French and Italian police smash wine fraudsters

French and Italian police smash wine fraudsters

Six people were found in the context of an examination of an Weinfallscherringes ($ 16,300) sold per bottle.

searches and seizures

The police in Italy searched 14 objects and confiscated large quantities of wine, wine bottles, fake labels from renowned French wineries and machines for re -ing bottles, according to the European law enforcement agency Europol, which was published on Tuesday.

In addition, electronic devices worth € 1.4 million ($ 1.5 million) and more than € 100,000 ($ 109,000) in cash were secured.

The methods of fraudsters

"The fake wine was made in Italy, then delivered to an Italian airport and sold by honest wine dealers worldwide at the market price," said Europol in the opinion.

The techniques used by the fraudsters referred to a connection to an earlier examination that affected a Russian fraudster and was completed in 2015, according to Europol.

Details for arrest

According to a declaration of the French public prosecutor's office published on Tuesday, a 40-year-old Russian man who has already been sentenced to a similar wine fraud under another identity is involved in the current investigation.

The public prosecutor said that the network had made it to sell a "large number of French Grands Crus" worth over € 2 million ($ 2.18 million).

legal steps

A judge in the French city of Dijon has charged a French citizen for fraud and money laundering. The Russian citizen will also appear before the same judge to receive an indictment, according to the explanation.

These investigations were led by the French gendarmerie and also included Italy's Carabinieri and the Swiss Federal Police.

The view of an expert

Stuart George, founder and managing director of Arden Fine Wines, a wine dealer based in London who specializes in noble and rare wines, explained: "It is difficult to find precise figures for counterfeiting because it is an activity that is naturally secret and fraudulent."

Nevertheless, market forces were able to drive interest in counterfeiting. "The increase in the demand for fine wines in the 21st century ... has motivated fraudsters," George told CNN. "Everything that is valuable, be it a painting or a bottle of wine, is endangered to be fake."

The problem of lack of specialist knowledge

fraudsters can benefit from a lack of specialist knowledge, he added. "Essentially, most people cannot distinguish between real and fake," said George. "If someone has never seen a real bottle of Petrus 1990, it is impossible to see if a fake is presented."

measures to combat fraud

The improvement of the skills in the industry is a way to combat wine forces, he added. "Better training and more know how bottles of fine wines - especially old bottles - really look like it would be helpful," said George. "Ultimately, it depends on integrity and competence."

further counterfeiting cases in the past

In October 2020, the Italian police opened a network that produced fake Sassicaia wine, a variety that is considered one of the best in the world and is sold for hundreds of euros per bottle, Reuters reported.

Bolgheri Sassicaia Rotwein comes from a region on the coast of Tuscany and has developed into one of the best known fine wines in Italy in the 1970s.

official from the Guardia di Finanza reported that the sophisticated counterfeiting operation filled inferior wine from Sicily in a warehouse near Milan, with carefully reproduced labels and packaging from Bulgaria.