STOP ILLEGAL blog

The pandemic has driven an expansion in illicit trade. As consumers have accelerated the shift to shopping online, criminals have spotted an opportunity: fake medicines, fake personal protective equipment, and data theft.

Following the announcement of its third funding round in June 2021, Alain Juillet—Expert Council member of PMI IMPACT—recently shared his thoughts on the importance of a coordinated response between businesses and authorities.

For the first time since 2011, total illicit cigarette consumption increased across the European Union in 2020, led by an unprecedented 87 percent surge in the consumption of counterfeit cigarettes.

Whether the perpetrators are cloaked in legitimacy or networks consisting purely of criminals, they are all bound by the pursuit of money.

Over the past few months, an international team of law enforcement officers took down a prominent crime group operating across Europe.