(ANSA) - Siena, September 9 - Finance police on Tuesday seized over 160,000 litres of fake Brunello di Montalcino and Rosso di Montalcino wines with an estimated value of nearly one million euros as part of an anti-fraud operation involving a consultant enologist in the province of Siena. The wine expert is suspected of supplying the regional authority with false data concerning the grape harvest, stock value and amount of wine sold on tap and then of using his influence with local producers to obtain official state labels and other documents authenticating the Montalcino wines, enabling him to sell low-quality wine in its place. He could now face charges of commercial fraud, illegal access to computers, aggravated and continued embezzlement and falsehood in relation to the "sensational" fraud investigation, which took place between 2011 and 2013.
The enologist has been banned from residing in Montalcino and his private bank accounts have been seized to a value of 350,000 euros, the equivalent of the profit made in the alleged fraud.
Police are now also trying to identify people who may have helped him in the operation.