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| Southeast Asia |
| Counterfeit trade linked to JI |
| 2004-04-22 |
| A risk assessment agency in Hong Kong says counterfeit goods sold at high margins in Southeast Asia and the rest of the world can be traced to terrorist groups like Jemaah Islamiyah, Islamic extremists linked to the al-Qaida terror network. Money made selling fake or copied DVD's, designer bags, and brand-name cigarettes can end up in the hands of terrorists. The Hong Kong risk assessment firm Hill and Associates says counterfeit products not only damage corporate sales and tarnish brand names, the illegal trade also threatens regional security. "Terrorist networks need money to function because they do not hold down regular jobs," said David Fernyhough, the company's brand director, speaking at the Foreign Correspondent's Club in Hong Kong. "Where the counterfeiting comes in is because it's very high return, very low risk, that money is untraceable and therefore attractive." He says companies trying to stop counterfeiters should be aware that vendors of fake products are often also involved in drugs, people smuggling and terrorism. Mr. Fernyhough says counterfeiters are attracted to brand-name products because of big profit margins. "Products that tend to be involved, where you have organized crime and potential extremist exploitation are the high margin goods where you are making a lot of money for very little investment. Name brands sell for far greater than their actual worth," he said. Mr. Fernyhough says counterfeit goods make up about five percent of world trade, accounting for hundreds of billions of dollars each year. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 From this article: Fighting Counterfeiters Also Helps Fight Terrorism This point was underlined by the July 20 [2002] Customs Service arrest at the Detroit airport of a suspected al-Qaida member carrying $12 million in counterfeit cashiers’ checks drawn on West America Bank. Reportedly, the forged checks were of very high quality and looked extremely convincing. ... Interpol estimates that legitimate $100 bills make up 30 percent to 40 percent of all the $100 bills circulating outside the United States. The rest are counterfeits that help fund terrorist activities, money laundering, drug deals and illicit arms trades. Such counterfeiting is taking place on a massive scale, as shown by the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation’s reported seizure recently of U.S. $100 bills and Treasury notes with a face value of over $1.7 trillion, plus computer and printing equipment. The fake $100 bills sold for $4 each. Currency counterfeiting is a more substantial terrorism issue than knockoff Louis Vuitton handbags. China's product counterfeiting and intellectual property theft is doing major harm to our world's economy. Their pirating is damaging the commerce and job markets of every other industrialized nation on earth. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-04-22 5:13:47 PM |
