A network that sold wine with false La Rioja designation in Asia has been dismantled

The Civil Guard has dismantled an international criminal organisation that exported thousands of litres of wine to Asia, which were fraudulently bottled and labelled in Vietnam under 17 different brands that pretended to be from La Rioja.

According to the Armed Institute, seven people have been declared as being investigated in the provinces of Valencia and Álava for belonging to a criminal organization, crimes against industrial property, document falsification and continued fraud.

The investigation began in March 2023, when a Spanish citizen raised the alarm after finding a bottle of wine in a gourmet shop in Vietnam with a label similar to that of a winery in La Rioja Alta that turned out to be fraudulent.

The analyses confirmed that neither the wine, nor the capsule, cork, packaging or labelling complied with the standards of the Rioja Qualified Designation of Origin , which has allowed three Valencian companies involved in exports to Asia to be identified.

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Investigations revealed that these companies exported thousands of litres of wine from various regions, never from La Rioja , which was then fraudulently bottled and labelled in Vietnam under 17 different brands pretending to be Rioja.

Another case has been detected in China where a winery from La Rioja Alavesa allegedly contacted the network to export several pallets of bottles without authorization from the Regulatory Council, although in this case the wine was authentic from Rioja.

The Civil Guard has had the support of its Fiscal and Border Detachment in Álava, the Regulatory Council of the Designation of Origin and the Haro Oenological Station to carry out the investigation, which remains open to determine the full extent of the fraud.