Six persons have been taken into custody in Paris, Turin, and Milan, including the alleged ringleader, a Russian national.
They are accused of creating false labels to impersonate well-known French vineyards, which were subsequently sold to international wine dealers for full market value.
According to French prosecutors, the organization made €2 million from the scam.
A French national has been accused with money laundering and organized fraud.
Prosecutors said they will also accuse the 40-year-old Russian national who was suspected of being the ringleader.
Items found during seizures, according to a news statement from Europol, included a “significant number.
items, wine refilling components, technological equipment for recapping bottles, and upscale merchandise,” in addition to electrical equipment worth 1.4 million euros and more than 100,000 euros in cash.
It was at a manageable level in France until a few years ago, when a few committed professionals would forge labels and wax seals to pass off ordinary wine as something more upscale.
However, things have altered in the past ten years.
Now that the top grand crus are selling for thousands of pounds a bottle on the global market, it is profitable to carry out the scam in a much more structured manner.
