Vinho Verde appellation officials arrested in wine fraud case
Portuguese police have arrested eight people and raided 21 properties in the Vinho Verde wine region following reports of “collusion between viticulture commission officials and businesspeople in the wine sector.”
Four of the individuals arrested for alleged wine fraud are members of the region’s governing body, the Viticulture Commission of the Vinho Verde Region (CVRVV), according to Spanish newspaper La Voz de Galicia.
CVRVV head Dora Simões told Vinetur she had been “caught completely off guard by the investigation”, which has been ongoing since August, and has been dubbed “Puro Verde” or “Pure Green”. Simões said the organisation was cooperating with police regarding rumoured reports of “collusion between [viticulture] commission officials and businesspeople in the wine sector”.
Backhanders
Those arrested from the trade body, which is responsible for quality control and official certification of Vinho Verde wines, belong to its Inspection and Control Division, with the individuals arrested for allegedly warning wineries of upcoming inspections and accepting bribes of meals, wine and event tickets. According to Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Notícias, the officials also allegedly turned a blind eye to wine producers failing to meet the requirements to obtain designation of origin (DO) or geographical indication (IG) certification to be able to label their bottles as Vinho Verde. The Vinateur report said that the arrested inspectors were also suspected of falsifying documents.
Partner Content
The four arrested at the CVRVV have all been suspended from all duties.
Meanwhile, a further four “business owners involved in the distribution and production of Vinho Verde” – have also been arrested, charged with “active and passive corruption, falsification of documents and abuse of power”.
Furthermore, according to La Voz de Galicia, the authorities suspect that the Vinho Verde inspectors “failed in their duties to monitor the origin and transit of the grapes and their storage in wineries and producers during the 2025 harvest”.
Related news
Belief and boldness: Luísa Amorim on Portugal’s future
