The Civil Guard, in coordination with Europol, Interpol and Vietnam police authorities, in the fight against food fraud with the so-called “Operation Epigraph” has dismantled a criminal network operating between Spain, Vietnam and China, dedicated to the counterfeiting of wines under the Qualified Designation of Origin Rioja.
Seven people residing in the provinces of Valencia and Álava have been investigated for belonging to a criminal organization, against industrial property, documentary falsehood and continued fraud. The criminal network was dedicated to the illicit trade of products protected under the Differentiated Quality seal, which guarantees international standards of authenticity and excellence.
The notice came from a Spanish citizen during his vacation in Vietnam, in March 2023, when he discovered in a gourmet store a bottle of wine labeled as Rioja Qualified Designation of Origin. The bottle had a design very similar to that of a bottle distributed by a winery in La Rioja Alta and suspicious of its authenticity, he decided to buy it and move it to Spain for analysis.
The results confirmed that neither wine, capsule, cork, packaging, nor labeling complied with the standards of the Rioja Qualified Designation of Origin.
The study of the elements of the bottle allowed to identify three companies in the Valencian Community involved in the export of wine to Asia. This discovery led to the intervention of agents of Europol and Interpol, who, in coordination with the police authorities of Vietnam, intensified the actions to dismantle the fraudulent sale network of fake Rioja wine.
With the progress of the investigations, it was discovered that these three companies had created an illegal network to export, in unauthorized format, thousands of liters of wine from various autonomous communities, but never from La Rioja.
Once in Vietnam, the content was extracted, bottled, labeled and fraudulently distributed as if it were Rioja, violating consumer rights and the protection of the denomination. In total, 17 fraudulent brands marketed under this false name were identified in Vietnam: Beronica, Luxiumwine, 1910, 1/One, El Agar, Rozita, Marina, 1920, Ebro River, Bottle 1965, Vinaria de Luxium, Luxium Discovery, Cañas, Alto Rioja, Mauricio, 16 Pineal Ebro, Enrieta and María Rivera.
On the other hand, agents discovered in China another bottle labeled as Rioja wine. After its analysis, it was confirmed that the content was wine from La Rioja, but the frontal labeling did not comply with the strict standards established. However, the bottle had added an original rear counter-label, the numbering of which had been assigned to a winery in La Rioja alavesa.
The investigation revealed that this winery had allegedly contacted the criminal network to export to China several pallets with finished bottles such as Rioja wine, but without the corresponding authorization of the public law corporation in charge of the defense of Qualified Designation of Origin.
To date, various documents are being analyzed in order to quantify the quantity of wine illicitly marketed and the economic benefit obtained by those investigated. The proceedings, together with those involved and the material involved, have been made available to the judicial authority.
During the proceedings, the investigators counted on the collaboration of the Fiscal and Frontier detachment of the Civil Guard in Álava to carry out inspections in various wineries of the Rioja alavesa. It was also supported by the Regulatory Council of the Qualified Designation of Origin Rioja and the Enological Station of Haro (La Rioja), which provides analysis services and technical assistance to public and private bodies in the wine sector.
For more information, you can contact the communication office of the Civil Guard in La Rioja: Phone 941 22 99 00 ext. 1010070.