Wine counterfeiters busted in Italy for selling bottles of fake wine for EUR 15 000

On 14 October, an investigation led by the French Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale), involving the Italian Carabinieri Corps (NAS Carabinieri) and Swiss Federal Police (Police Federale Swiss), supported by Europol and Eurojust, has led to the dismantling of a criminal network counterfeiting French Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) wines in Italy. The criminal network faked French red wine, charging up to EUR 15 000 per bottle. The fake wine was forged in Italy, then delivered to an Italian airport and exported for sale at market value all over the world by honest wine traders.

The operation led to:

• 6 arrests (one High Value Target);
• 14 location searches in Torino and Milano
• Seizures including: large amount of wine bottles from different counterfeited Grand Cru domains, wine stickers and wax products, ingredients to refill wine, technical machines to recap bottles, luxurious goods, and electronic equipment valued at EUR 1.4 million, over EUR 100 000 in cash and documents.

The modus operandi of the criminal network, combined with the characteristics of the counterfeits, led investigators to establish a link with a previous investigation supported by Europol targeting the counterfeiting of PDO wine. Forensic operations carried out on these high-value items revealed the techniques the criminal network used to counterfeit the high-quality French wine.

Connections between the two investigations were also found while looking into the manufacturers of caps and capsules, and the label printers. This investigation, which had been closed in 2015, involved a Russian national who was also connected to this investigation. Further investigations uncovered commercial transactions carried out between Italy and Switzerland. Other bottles with similar signs of counterfeiting were subsequently discovered.

In 2014, a latent trace was discovered on the back of a label, which uncovered a connection to an individual already known to the authorities from a similar previous case. The investigation into an international network counterfeiting luxurious wines led to the arrest of a Russian individual associated with two winemakers, Italian nationals. However, since 2019, new counterfeits have appeared in Europe, specifically in the Swiss and Italian markets. Investigations which were carried out showed that the old fake bottles were still being sold, alongside new ones with copies of the new security features. The investigative leads and the international information exchange through Europol allowed the French Gendarmerie unit in charge of the case to identify this new distribution route of fake bottles using the Grand Cru domains  identity.

Europol support and joint actions

Europol has supported the investigation since 2021, coordinating operational activities, facilitating the exchange of information, and providing analytical support. On the action day, Europol deployed two experts on the spot to cross-check operational information against Europol’s databases to provide national authorities with further investigative leads.
Eurojust supported the collaboration between French and Italian judicial authorities and ensured the execution of European Investigation Orders in Italy.

The following authorities took part in this action:   

• France - French Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale), Court of Dijon – Gendarmerie Nationale (SR Dijon)
• Italy - Italian Carabinieri Corps (NAS Carabinieri), Public Prosecutors Office Turin; Public Prosecutors Office Milan
• Switzerland - State police Geneva (Police cantonale de Genève), State Police Zug (Kantonapolizei Zug), Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS), Swiss Federal Police (fedpol)

The list of authorities was amended on the 15th of October.