Forgeries blight EU economy

By David Cronin

Date: 10/11/05

Forgery could be hurting the EU's economy more than all other crimes, according to a new analysis by the European police office Europol.

The 2005 report on organised crime from the Hague-based body says that fraud against intellectual property "probably has the most significant impact on the EU in terms of tax losses and employment, with an estimated 200,000 job losses every year within the EU".

Seizures of counterfeit goods, it adds, have "exploded" since 1999, rising by 300% in the case of toys and games.

Yet while luxury goods were the favoured target for counterfeiters in the past, these now represent just 4% of seizures. Instead, counterfeiters are trading in fake versions of a huge variety of mass-produced branded goods, with computer software, DVDs and music CDs proving especially lucrative.

Forgery of euro banknotes also appears to have increased, the report adds. Last year, almost 861,000 forged notes - with a face value of EUR 45 million - were seized, a rise of 28% on 2003. France, Italy, Spain and Germany had the highest numbers of seizures, while most of the high-quality banknotes seem to have been produced by criminal gangs from the Baltic and Balkan regions.

The report says that the sexual exploitation of women and children is perceived as "a high-profit, low-risk crime". Sentences handed down in the "rare event of a conviction are normally much lower than those for other serious crimes", it notes.

Citing United Nations estimates that the global profits generated by crime bosses involved in human trafficking could be as high as EUR 8.5 billion per year, Europol says it is reasonable to assume that a "fair proportion" of that sum is made in Europe. Lithuanian women are sold for EUR 2,200-EUR 6,000, it adds, with pimps often recovering such 'investments' within a few days.

Europol also refers to indications of a global child trafficking market worth EUR 1bn each year and involving the exploitation of 1 million children. Bulgarian criminal gangs, it says, have become prominent in an illegal adoption racket, with the children concerned frequently destined for the EU. "A dangerous evolution is the sexual exploitation of children through the internet where the criminal organisations involved still find ways to safeguard their anonymity," the report adds.

On drugs, the report says that about 135 tonnes of heroin are consumed in the EU each year. With 260,000 heroin users, the UK is described as the "largest consumer country in Western Europe".

According to the 2005 Report on organised crime, published by the European police office Europol, forgery could be hurting the EU's economy more than all other crimes.