Rise In Counterfeit Market Linked To Terrorist Funding

By Carratu International - www.carratu.com

London - Consumers are being warned that the innocent purchases of counterfeit products from Internet sites and markets are funding terrorist and criminal organizations, including Al Qaeda, the Mafia, and the IRA. The sale of these fake goods, ranging from "designer" clothes to power tools to pharmaceutical products are directly linked to international terrorism and organized crime, according to Carratu International PLC, a leading investigator of intellectual property abuse.

Carratu International estimates that the global counterfeit market, which already accounts for 9% of world trade, will double in size over the next two years. Much of the increase will be due to sales from unregulated internet sites advertising fake goods.

"It does not have to involve the sale of anything sinister," said Spencer Burgess, director of Carratu International's Intellectual Property Investigations division. "It's easy to make money from something as bland as a T-shirt. The perception many people have that counterfeiting is run by small groups that are just trying to make a few dollars on the side is completely misplaced. It is very much more organized and malicious."

Extensive inquiries by Carratu International have unearthed links between counterfeiting and Al Qaeda, Hisbollah, the IRA, ETA, the Mafia, Chinese Triad gangs, the Japanese Yakuza crime syndicate, the Russian Mafia, and drug cartels. Indeed, the recovery of Al Qaeda training manuals shows that the organization recommends the sale of counterfeit products to raise funds.

"The bogus clothes people are buying of the Internet might be helping to prop up terrorist or criminal gangs. Every major terrorist group in the world is into counterfeiting on way or another. It is a fairly straightforward way to raise funds." said Spencer Burgess.

Carratu International is particularly worried about the proliferation of counterfeit pharmaceutical products. Research has shown that half the drugs currently obtained on the Internet were of dubious origin. Many were ineffective and some potentially dangerous. A recent study by the Spanish Consumers Association showed that a quarter of "e-pharmacies" sold medicines on the Internet illegally. Many counterfeit medicines were repackaged products that had outlasted their original shelf life.

"Only global regulation, such as licensing of bona fida websites, could hope to bring the trade in counterfeit goods over the Internet under control. In the meantime, we would advise people to steer well clear of sites they do not know to be authorized by product manufacturers." said Spencer Burgess.