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Italian police foil counterfeit Tuscan red wine scam in biggest food fraud ever Italian police foil counterfeit Tuscan red wine scam in biggest food fraud
(35 minutes later)
Producers of Tuscany's Brunello di Montalcino were celebrating Thursday after Italian police foiled a plot to flood the market with over 220,000 counterfeit bottles of the prized red wine. Producers of Tuscany's Brunello di Montalcino have been toasting their good fortune after Italian police foiled a plot to flood the market with nearly half a million counterfeit bottles of the prized red wine.
A noted wine expert who had obtained fake Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino labels and was able to falsify certification in the region's wine database was selling lower quality local wine as bulk supplies of the coveted red to unwitting local producers, Siena's financial police said. A wine expert, who had obtained fake Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino labels and falsified certification in the region's wine database, was selling lower-quality local wine as bulk supplies of the coveted red to unwitting local producers, police officers in Siena said.
"It's the biggest fraud ever carried out in the agricultural and food sector," police chief Luca Albertario said. "It's the biggest fraud ever carried out in the agricultural and food sector," the force's chief, Luca Albertario, added. Had the scam succeeded, it would have resulted in fake Brunello di Montalcino wines "ending up on the tables of half the restaurants in the world", he added. The 160,000 litres of falsified wine would have sold for up to €5m (£4m).
Had it succeeded, it would have resulted in fake Brunello di Montalcino wines "ending up on the tables of half the restaurants in the world," Albertario added. Detectives tipped off last year by a suspicious winemaker discovered the conman had targeted up to 10 wineries between 2011 and 2013. He is also accused of attempting to steal €350,000 from the bank account of one of his victims.
The 160,000 litres of falsified wine would have sold for up to 5m euros. Some 220,000 bottles of poor-quality wine, which had been stored in barrels to age like the real Brunello, were confiscated this week before they could go on the market.
Investigators tipped off last year by a suspicious winemaker discovered the conman had targeted up to 10 wineries between 2011 and 2013. The oenologist, who has been banned from living in Montalcino, is the only person under investigation, though police believe he had been helped by collaborators in the wine production and sales sectors.
He is also accused of having attempted to steal 350,000 euros from the bank account of one of his victims. The Brunello di Montalcino consortium of winemakers and authorities in Tuscany plan to sue for damages.
The poor quality wine, which had been stored in barrels to age like the real Brunello, was confiscated earlier this week before it could go on the market. According to the Italian farmers association, Coldiretti, 70% of Brunello wine is exported, mainly to the US, then by Asia and Central America.
The oenologist, who has been banned from living in Montalcino, is the only person under investigation so far, though the police said they believed he had been helped by "collaborators in both the wine production and sales sectors, who are currently being identified". The scandal is the second to hit the Italian wine sector this year. In May, police foiled a multimillion-euro scam in which table wine was being falsely labelled as from a winery belonging to the Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli's estate.
Both the Brunello di Montalcino Consortium of winemakers and the Tuscany region have said they will sue for damages.
According to the Italian farmers association Coldiretti, 70% of Brunello wine is exported abroad, with the largest slice of the market in the US, followed by Asia and Central America.
It is the second scandal to hit the Italian wine sector this summer. In May, police busted open a multimillion-euro scam in which table wine was being falsely labelled as coming from a winery belonging to famed Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli's estate.