00:00French police arrested nine people in an investigation into a Louvre ticket fraud on Friday.
00:07The Paris Prosecutor's Office said the scheme may have cost the world's most visited museum over $11 million in revenues.
00:14Those in custody include two Louvre officials, several guides and a person described as the organiser of the ring, it
00:21said in a statement.
00:23It adds to a spate of setbacks at the museum, including a spectacular jewel heist, a water leak that damaged
00:30ancient books and strikes.
00:33Investigations began in December 2024, after the Louvre flagged the presence of two Chinese guides,
00:39suspected of getting groups of Chinese tourists into the museum, reusing single-entry tickets for different people.
00:46Police then identified a fully-fledged network.
00:49The group may have let in fraudulently up to 20 groups of tourists per day over a decade-long period
00:56while bribing Louvre officials to turn a blind eye.
00:59Police also seized almost 1 million euros in cash and almost 500,000 euros parked in bank accounts.
01:07The Prosecutor's Office said the ring had perpetrated the same kind of ticket fraud at the Palace of Versailles, though
01:13it did not elaborate.
01:14The values as well as the
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