3 Men Arrested in Scheme to Sell Counterfeit Car Parts
Federal authorities arrested three men Tuesday on charges of selling counterfeit brake pads and other automotive parts to repair shops, including those that service the city’s yellow taxis and licensed livery cabs, officials said. The brake pads were deceptively packaged to appear as though they were made by Ford, General Motors and other leading manufacturers, the authorities said. Agents from theFederal Bureau of investigationraided several locations on Tuesday in connection with the case, including a warehouse in Astoria, Queens. The defendants, Shashi Malhotra, Fadi Kilani and Richard Dininni, were arrested at their homes in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the authorities said. As of Tuesday afternoon, at least two of the men had not been arraigned. They face charges of conspiring to traffic in counterfeit goods. The top official in the F.B.I.’s New York office, George Venizelos, characterized their conduct as fraud. The United States attorney in Manhattan, Preet Bharara, described the products as “the automobile replacement parts equivalent of designer knockoffs,” but suggested that the quality of the products themselves“may have been no different from many other generic parts sold every day.” Indeed, there was little immediate evidence that the brake pads were faulty or that drivers or passengers had been endangered. TheTaxi and Limousine Commissiontests the brake systems of the city’s taxi fleet three times a year, and the failure rate has been relatively level in recent years, a commission spokesman, Allan Fromberg, said. “There is no evidence to suggest any negative effects from the generic parts in question,” Mr. Fromberg said. “Our inspection process is such that if it passes muster with our highly trained inspectors and our state-of-the-art equipment, it’s as safe as any part regardless of the manufacturer.” The commission’s top official, David Yassky, said in a statement that “the public may remain confident in the safety of New York City taxicabs,” but he added that “successfully keeping counterfeiters like these at bay is crucial.”
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In 10 years, developing nations lost $5.86 trn
Even as developing countries struggle to bring back illicit money stashed abroad, Global Financial Integrity (GFI) has brought out a startling report. Between 2001 and 2010, developing countries lost $5.86 trillion, owing to tax evasion, crime and corruption, the report said. India recorded an outflow of $123 billion. GFI said this money had flowed to tax havens and banks in advanced countries. In 2010, 150 developing countries recorded illicit outflows of $858.8 billion to tax havens. This was below the all-time high of $871.3 billion in 2008. In 2009, the outflow stood at $776.0 billion. According to GFI’s report, ‘Illicit Financial Flows From Developing Countries: 2001-2010’, for 2010, India did not rank among the top 20 countries, in terms of outflows. The report was co-authored by GFI lead economist Dev Kar and GFI economist Sarah Freitas. With illegal outflows of $420.36 billion in 2010 alone, China was the top illicit capital exporter during the decade. For the entire 10-year period, India was ranked eighth. Countries such as India are struggling to find ways to tackle illicit outflows and bring back such funds lying abroad. India is embroiled in tax rows with several companies, including Vodafone, Shell, Nokia, IBM and Sanofi-Aventis. It is also revising its double taxation avoidance agreements with Mauritius and other countries. “Astronomical sums of dirty money continue to flow out of the developing world into offshore tax havens and developed country banks,” said GFI Director Raymond Baker. He blamed offshore secrecy jurisdictions and developed Western economies for facilitating illicit outflows from developing countries. “This is an astronomically large amount of money. We’re talking about nearly $6 trillion, which could have been invested in healthcare, education, and infrastructure in the world’s poorest countries. Nearly $6 trillion could have been used to pull people out of poverty and save lives,” he said. The estimates are conservative, as these don’t include trade mispricing in services, same-invoice trade mispricing, hawala transactions and dealings conducted in bulk cash, Kar said. “This means much of the proceeds of drug trafficking, human smuggling and other criminal activities, which are often settled in cash, are not included in these estimates.” In its latest edition, The Economist carried a cover page editorial and a 10-article expose on the damaging role of anonymous shell companies, banking secrecy and lax money laundering regulations and enforcement in the US, the UK and offshore tax havens. The magazine flayed developed countries, including the US and the UK, for complacency in dealing with illicit capital flows headed to leading tax havens. There are 50-60 tax havens, concentrated primarily in the Caribbean, Europe, the Indian and Pacific oceans and regions in the US (such as Delaware and Miami). These help millions of paper companies evade taxes in their respective countries. The magazine also urged Western economies to “focus…on cleaning up their own backyards and reforming their tax systems”.
Lear MoreCustomers Get Burned By Counterfeit Goods From Amazon’s Marketplace
The online shopping website Amazon.com is popular for discounted items, but it’s also a marketplace for knockoffs. “We think the amount of fraud and counterfeit goods that were sold to consumers was between $110 and $140 million just this past holiday season,” James Lee of the Consumer Fraud Center in Santa Monica said. “We expect if nothing is done, that number is probably going to double by next year.” Sandra Torres of Canyon Country is among the hundreds of customers who bought a counterfeit version of a hair straightening iron called the InStyler. “I put it on my hair and immediately it was really hot. It started sizzling my hair,” Torres said. “I could hear, and I could see the smoke coming out of it.” InStyler, which is based in Culver City, brought a lawsuit against Amazon in 2011 to stop selling the device— real or fake. “This is not just like a handbag. This thing can be dangerous,” one of the creators of InStyler, David Richmond, said. The attorney representing the maker of the straightener, Tom Peistrup, alleges more than 20,000 knockoffs have been sold through Amazon. Lee compares the company’s marketplace to the Wild West. “You don’t know what you’re getting,” he said. “There’s no law, there’s no system of justice.” Lee said the manufacturers of knockoffs, in places such as China, can bypass customs and border security agents by sending goods directly to Amazon’s warehouses. He’s seen knockoffs of prescription drugs, popular headphones such as Beats by Dr. Dre and even designer shoes. InStyler is working to find Amazon customers who bought fake devices and replace them with authentic ones. Torres recently received hers. “I know I’m not going to buy anything from Amazon anymore, it’s ridiculous,” she said. CBS2 reached out to Amazon for comment but there has been no response.
Lear MoreFake cosmetics flood the market
A local cosmetics distributor, Black Opal Zimbabwe, has expressed concern over the rise of counterfeit products imitating some of its brands.The company, an official distributor of the US-originated brand, Black Opal Cosmetics said research had proved that counterfeits were dangerous to users.Counterfeits are popular among Zimbabwe’s poor because they are cheap.“Fake make-up is unregulated and leading researches on seized products established that these beauty products contain dangerous compounds such as lead and cadmium,” said Black Opal Zimbabwe director of marketing, Tatenda Mutseyekwa. “Although original products may have traces of these elements, these will be in tiny and proven-to-be-safe concentrations, unlike in counterfeit products.”Mutseyekwa said researches had established that long-term exposure to cadmium could result in impaired kidney function while lead could affect the central nervous system.“No one is testing them for safety and no one cares if the ingredients are fit for use,” he said.Products being traded as Black Opal have flooded the country over the past decade. Unscrupulous dealers are taking advantage of their high demand and selling counterfeit products in their shops and flea markets.“We are just saying, don’t label your cheap and dangerous products ‘Black Opal’ or the common misspelled ‘Black Opel’. That’s trademark infringement and piracy,” he said.Mutseyekwa said as the holders of the trademark and distributorship in the country, Black Opal Zimbabwe were in the process of rolling out a programme to address the issue of counterfeit products.“We are also working with various stakeholders including but not limited to police, the Revenue authority and the Health ministry to tackle the issue of fakes,” he said.According to Interpol, syndicates that manufacture fake cosmetics used the proceeds to fund terrorism, among other organised criminal activities.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/2013/02/17/fake-cosmetics-flood-the-market/
Lear More2 held for selling fake watches
Two youths were arrested for selling fake watches under the banner of two leading brands in Sector 22 on Friday. Over 980 spurious watches were recovered from two shops – Jain Watch Company and Ravindra Watch Company – in Sector 22. Accused Manoj Kumar, an employee with Jain Watch Company, and Ravinder Pal of Ravindra Watch Company were remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.The raid was conducted by a joint team of police and representatives of leading brands. Police officials said prima facie all recovered watches were found to be duplicates with fake logo impressions of leading brands, and the accused reportedly confessed procuring them from Delhi.
Lear MoreDubai and Ajman police authorities seize 6,200 counterfeit toners
Brother International (Gulf) FZE has lauded the successful joint operation with enforcement authorities from Dubai and Ajman that raided a warehouse in Ajman, which resulted in the seizure of more than 6,200 counterfeit ‘Brother’ toner cartridges and other consumables , Based on accounts by company officials, Brother International was tipped off few traders that were selling counterfeit ‘Brother’ toners in Dubai. This vital information was relayed to authorities inUAE, which resulted in successful raids. The raided companies admitted that the seized counterfeit toners were supplied by another Dubai trader who kept the pirated products in a warehouse in Ajman. With the help of the authority in Ajman the warehouse of the counterfeit toners were revealed and raided.
Lear MorePolice seize fake Nike, Apple products in flea market raid
Baltimore County police raided the North Point Plaza Flea Market in Dundalk looking for counterfeit items, police say.Around 10 a.m. Saturday detectives began serving search warrants on 16 vendors believed to be selling fake products in the popular Dundalk flea market located in the 2400 block of Old North Point Boulevard. Police say the raid, dubbed “Operation Flea Collar” is the result of an investigation following numerous complaints of counterfeit products being by private vendors at the market. Baltimore County detectives have been working with the Recording Industry Association of America, the Motion Picture Association of America and trademark representatives for major brand names to gather evidence in the investigation. The vendors are alleged to have sold fakes of trendy brand names such as Ugg, Nike, Apple, North Face, Timberland, Polo and bootleg music and movies to undercover detectives. While the search warrants were being served, detectives shut down the flea market to make sure that the vendors involved remained at the scene and that no evidence was removed prior to seizure by detectives. The investigation into these vendors is ongoing. The seized merchandise will be evaluated by trademark experts, and charges are pending against vendors found to be selling counterfeit items.
Lear MoreThe Punjab Agriculture Department has confiscated fake pesticides worth over Rs 13.2 million
The Punjab Agriculture Department has confiscated fake pesticides worth over Rs 13.2 million from Multan, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan and Sahiwal Division during a campaign against fake agricultural inputs. This was disclosed by Additional Secretary (Task Force) Punjab Agriculture Department Bilal Ahmad Butt while speaking at a meeting convened to review the efforts against fake pesticides. The meeting was held in the Central Cotton Research Institute, Multan said a spokesman of the department here on Thursday. Director Pest Warning Malik Fayyaz Ahmad while briefing the meeting said that the department collected 3937 samples of pesticides during the campaign from these four divisions of which 96 samples were found substandard and 138 cases were registered. Additional Secretary Task Force directed the pesticide inspectors to make the campaign more effective and collect samples from each dealer besides collecting samples on the basis of intelligence reports. He said that samples should be collected from every importer and distributor without any discrimination and sent to the laboratories for analysis. He disclosed that the Punjab government was taking steps to increase the laboratories for analysis of pesticides to ensure provision of quality products to the growers. The meeting was also attended by Director Central Cotton Research Institute Bagh Muhammad, Director Pest Warning Multan and pesticide inspectors of the above mentioned four divisions
Lear MoreUS experts get tough on fake medicines
Health experts are urging the United States and other countries to boost their ability to identify fake or subpar medicines and close loopholes that allow products to be falsified or diluted.In an international system in which different companies in many countries make ingredients for single treatments, no country alone can effectively enforce quality control on drugs that can be the fine line between life and death, stressed a report by the independent Institute of Medicine (IOM).”Falsified and substandard medicines are a grave public health problem because they are ineffective, promote drug resistance, and even cause severe illness and death, particularly in developing countries where they regularly flood the market,” said Lawrence Gostin, health law expert at Georgetown University Law Center who led the group of 12 experts who did the study.”We’re calling on WHO, in collaboration with regulators, companies, and civil society worldwide, to adopt a global code of practice, build national regulatory capabilities, and promote international cooperation,” Gostin said.Fake versions of the cancer drug Avastin were given to US patients in 2011 and 2012, for example, but similar problems occur even more frequently in poor countries, the committee found. Avastatin is made by Switzerland’s Roche.”Given the international nature of modern manufacturing and trade, every nation has a stake and a role to play in ensuring the production and sale of high-quality medications,” said Gostin, who is director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center on Public Health Law and Human Rights.Counterfeit and substandard medications with little or no active ingredients can hasten drug resistance, do not treat disease, and boost health care costs. In addition, products that contain dangerous ingredients have sickened and killed people around the world, the report explains.It urges the WHO to increase its cooperation with regulators worldwide.”What we’re seeing in the United States – and doubly so in developing countries – is a race to the bottom,” Gostin said. “Unscrupulous drug suppliers seek the state or country with the weakest regulatory and law enforcement standards. We need to encourage a status competition for the finest regulatory oversight.”So the report urges a mandatory drug tracking system.US “agreement on a federally mandated tracking system has been slowed by costs associated with changing drugs’ primary packaging and labels as well as wholesale repackaging, the report found. “Without a national system, however, companies face the burden of meeting competing state demands. For example, California will require unique serial numbers on bottles and vials by 2015,” it said.The report also urges adoption of the terms “substandard” and “falsified” to refer to products that pose a public health risk, asking parties to refrain from using the term “counterfeit” except in trademark infringement cases.”Consistent use of terms would improve nations’ abilities to document the extent of the problem, determine causes, and discuss possible solutions,” it added.
Lear MoreSurge in cases of fake drugs; whistleblower plan draws a blank
New Delhi: In a worrying trend, there has been an increase in cases of fake drugs in last three years and efforts by authorities to encourage whistle-blowers to report such illegal activity too have failed to elicit the desired response.Of the total of 345 cases of spurious or fake drugs reported between 2009-12 by Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), 117 were in 2009-10, 95 in 2010-11 and 133 in 2011-12, according to information provided by Health Ministry in response to an RTI query. The CDSCO has tested about 1.37 lakh drug samples in the last three years. Of these, 6,500 samples were declared of sub-standard quality other than 345 cases of fake drugs. The Health Ministry has launched prosecution in 516 cases against various persons for manufacturing, sale and distribution of spurious or adulterated drugs during the period. As many as 345 persons were arrested for selling and manufacturing fake drugs, it said. During 2009-10, a total of 39,248 drug samples were tested and 1,942 were found to be of inferior quality. The central health authorities have launched prosecution in 138 cases and arrested 173 persons during the year. Whereas in 2010-11, about 49,682 drugs samples were tested and 2,372 of them were found to be of sub-standard quality. Authorities have launched prosecution in 167 cases in which 72 persons were arrested, the reply said. A total of 48,082 drugs samples were tested in 2011-12, in which 2,186 were found to be below the standard. The Health Ministry authorities initiated prosecution in 211 cases in which 141 persons were arrested. A whistle blower scheme was launched by the Ministry in August 2009 to reward any individual who gives information related to fake drugs but all the complaints were found to be false. “There were 37 complaints received under the whistle blower scheme by this organisation. The complaints were investigated by the concerned State Drug Controlling Authorities, CDSCO and in certain cases both the authorities had jointly investigated the complaints. “However, the complaints were found to be fictitious and no person has been awarded under this scheme till date,” the Directorate General of Health Services said in reply to the RTI query filed by PTI. The whistle blower scheme was launched by the government to encourage vigilant public participation in the detection of movement of spurious drugs in the country.
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