The 'world's best chef', who was found dead in his home last week, was the victim of a huge wine scam that put him in considerable financial trouble, according to reports.
Reports according to Swiss financial magazine Bilan claimed Benoit Violier, 44, who ran the Restaurant de l'Hotel de Ville in Switzerland, was the victim of a scam where rare wines priced from £14,000 up to £27,500 were sold to restaurants - but never delivered which was allegedly masterminded by Swiss wine company Private Finance Partners.
Benoit Violier, 44, whose Restaurant de l'Hotel de Ville was awarded three Michelin stars, committed suicide last Sunday, leaving no note.
Violier's death came just weeks after his Restaurant de l'Hotel de Ville was crowned the best of 1,000 top eateries across 48 countries ranked by France's La Liste.
The ranking was seen as the French foreign ministry's answer to the Britain-based World's 50 Best Restaurants. Some saw it as launched out of pique after not a single French eatery reached the top ten of the UK-based table.
In 2015, the company trading in rare wines sold expensive bottles that fetched tho
usands of pounds to a number of restaurants, including Violier's, but allegedly failed to deliver them.
Violier was laid to rest on Saturday in France. A service was also held on Friday in Lausanne, Switzerland, where 1500 people attended.
He was buried in Montils, a town in the region of Charente-Maritime in France, where he was born and where his mother and one of his six siblings still live.
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