FROM PHILIP MORRIS TO LOCAL ARTISANS, THANKS TO THE EMIRATES, SMUGGLING HAS GONE GLOBAL

On 7 November 2021 / Dossier American Lobbying, Geopolitics, IBI World France / Leave a comment

For years, competitors of PMI Philip Morris International (and especially BAT British American Tobacco) have been claiming that PMI also sells its cigarettes through smuggling. According to many observers, international cigarette smuggling takes place using four main hubs: Greece, South Africa, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Many NGOs and magistrates have already worked on the subject, but are stumped by the fact that the Emirates do not cooperate in transnational investigations.

The facts: the illegal cigarette trade is a global industry, whose production is not subject to any quality or toxicity control, which also costs governments about 40 billion dollars a year in lost revenue and is a secure income for criminal and terrorist organisations[1]. The business is so lucrative that it has convinced the authorities that tobacco is the most smuggled legal substance in the world[2]. Why cigarettes? The reason is simple. The taxes for its official sale are very high, the volume and weight limited and the profits high. In addition, it is an easy product to smuggle, it is subject to the rarest of controls, and at most, if you are caught in the act, the whole thing is resolved with a fine, whereas with drugs you go to jail.

Dozens of unknown brands of cigarettes are smuggled in, but above all, the most famous and most widespread on the official market, first and foremost the two large multinationals, BAT and Philip Morris – who, officially, complain about this[3]: Philip Morris paid 1.25 billion dollars to the European Union to finance the fight against smuggling (the only tobacco company that, in 2004, concluded such an agreement with the EU), and compensated for the tax losses calculated on the basis of customs seizures of smuggled cigarettes – but in exchange it obtained the end of the criminal investigations against its own management that had been initiated on European territory[4].

BAT joined the project in 2010 and made available USD 200 million[5]. The agreement with both multinationals expired in July 2016 and has not been renewed by the European Union[6], as the agreement has not led to a reduction in the smuggling of BAT and Philip Morris products and has actually seen an increase in the sale of other illegal products due to heavy industrial investment in the “cheap white” sector, i.e. low-cost cigarettes legally produced in some Eastern and Middle Eastern countries and then illegally sold elsewhere[7].

The major smuggling routes

The main routes of global cigarette smuggling[8]

But what do tobacco companies have to do with smugglers? According to European Union analysts, cigarette smugglers buy the goods directly from the multinationals, who are aware of this, but do nothing to prevent it. On the contrary, according to the magazine Tobacco Control, smuggling has become fundamental in an era in which bans and tax impositions are increasing and turnover is decreasing: smuggling allows higher sales and is a way to enter closed markets (like China, for example, where 40 million cigarettes are smuggled in every year)[9].

The most widespread brands are American, such as Marlboro (Philip Morris) and Camel (R.J. Reynolds): the cigarettes are legally purchased from the manufacturing companies in the United States and arrive at the port of Antwerp in Belgium as “transit” goods[10]. Officially, these cigarettes are destined for countries outside Europe, such as North Africa, and for this reason they are exempt from taxation – but once they leave Antwerp, they are lost[11]. Three main routes are known: the first is from Belgium[12] to Switzerland[13]. Here the cigarettes are no longer under European legislation (and there is no traceability system)[14] and they receive a new destination, which is usually Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union[15].

The second route: from the port of Antwerp the cigarettes arrive at airports in Belgium and Holland, and from there they reach Eastern Europe again. From the former Iron Curtain countries they then re-enter the European Union, heading mainly to Germany and Italy (in 2018, the proportion of illicit tobacco consumption was stable at around 5.8% of total cigarettes[16]). These cigarettes re-enter via routes that mainly pass through Albania and Montenegro[17], a country that until 20 years ago was one of the main global smuggling hubs, until agreements between Italy and Montenegro led to the expulsion and arrest of fugitives from justice who were hiding in that country[18]). The third route: the cigarettes, once stored in Belgium, arrive directly in Spain, Andorra and Portugal[19].

The blows against the criminal system were only effective for a few months: in the meantime, the old Turkish-Greek smuggling route was reactivated, the storage sites were moved, the mother ships and the operational bases in the Greek islands were reactivated[20]. Until 2017, when an operation by the Hong Kong police led to the seizure of 5.8 million dollars worth of Greek cigarettes and the arrest of a gang of Vietnamese smugglers[21], the Greek smuggling route was mainly centred on a company, Karelia AeBe Athens[22], which partly produces cigarettes for the legal market and partly produces fake ones, under the brand names of some famous companies[23]. After that date, Karelia moved its activity to Bulgaria[24], and it also became the official distribution agency for Philip Morris and Gallagher[25].

Counterfeit cigarettes arrive everywhere in the world, even in countries not traditionally involved in smuggling, such as Iran. The Islamic Republic is the largest market for tobacco products in the Middle East: the government has a monopoly on local tobacco, but there is a strong demand for international brands and, according to local agencies, about 20% of cigarette consumption is made up of smuggled brands[26]. The Islamic revolution of 1979 did not prevent Western companies such as RJ Reynolds from circumventing the monopoly and smuggling their products duty-free into the country[27]. An important relocation site was the Kish Island free trade zone in the Persian Gulf – a duty free zone widely exploited as a channel for smuggling not only cigarettes[28].

September 2016: Hong Kong Police seize 20 million packets of Greek cigarettes[29]

In 2002, the Iranian government signed an agreement with Reemtsma and other tobacco companies to replace the illicit cigarette trade with legal imports[30]. American manufacturers, including Philip Morris, were allowed to conclude trade agreements with the Mullah regime despite the embargo, and despite the fact that Iran levies an import tax of over 7%[31]. Power of the lobbies… But smuggled products are still in high demand among Iranian smokers[32]. Western brands are considered by women and young people as a symbol of freedom, so former President Ahmadinejad accused the Revolutionary Guards of illegally gaining from tobacco trade agreements[33].

Until 2010 (until the fall of the Gaddafi regime) Libya was another of the main markets, and the demand was so great that Philip Morris asked Raoul Setrouk (an Israeli businessman who worked for PMI at the time) to calculate and document the importation of cigarettes into Libya, which, avoiding sanctions, was done through a company in Dubai, the Al Rashideen Trading Company[34]. After the revolution, Al Rashideen continued its activities, but began using an offshore company specifically set up by Setrouk, Transafrica Ltd. Hamilton, which in turn controlled other companies involved in smuggling, such as United Tobacco Group Inc. Panama[35], and MSI Market Intelligence Survey (MSIntelligence) Sarl Geneva[36].

At the time, all PMI products distributed by Setrouk and Al Rashideen were manufactured in the United States. Al Rashideen also distributed (through Transafrica) significant quantities of PMI’s tobacco products to other countries subject to the US embargo until 2020, when Philip Morris stopped paying and the Setrouk companies sued[37]. To date, PMI continues to distribute cigarettes through Al Rashideen in several countries including Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, the Gulf states and throughout Africa[38].

To increase the pressure on Philip Morris, Setrouk filed a second lawsuit[39], accusing PMI of intellectual property theft because it allegedly used a methodology created by MSIntelligence to measure worldwide flows of smuggled cigarettes[40]. Setrouk presented evidence of smuggling created by Philip Morris in Libya in violation of the embargo, manipulating data collected by KPMG on illegal cigarettes to hide the crime committed[41].

Setrouk created a very dangerous wave for Philip Morris, especially in France: in this country, for several years researchers, prevention associations and a handful of deputies have been accusing PMI of organizing parallel trade and of promoting unfair competition by dumping prices[42]. According to them, a large proportion of the low-cost cigarettes sold secretly in Paris or Marseille come from factories in Eastern Europe or the Maghreb[43]: they are allegedly imported illegally, and therefore tax-free, by intermediaries linked to PMI[44]: thanks to African factories, a packet of cigarettes costs €1.63 in Algeria, whereas a legal packet of Marlboros in France cost €8 until 2019, today it costs €10[45], while the packets coming from Algeria cost half as much, guaranteeing smugglers a profit of over €3 per packet[46].

Flows from Algeria to France have registered a 300% increase since 2012[47]

The solution found by Philip Morris: appointing Nicolas Sarkozy’s former spokesman, Grégoire Verdeaux, to the board of directors with the task of managing contacts with the European Parliaments[48], and at the same time signing a contract with Sheikh Ahmed Hassan Abdul Qaher Al-Sheebani, one of the most powerful lobbyists in Algeria and the main shareholder in the PMI joint venture with the Emirati-Algerian tobacco company (STAEM): discovered the new channel, the sheikh hastily left Algeria with 20 suitcases of millions of euros in cash in his private jet, and six officers from the General Directorate of Security and Presidential Protection (DGSPP) were sentenced to 20 years in prison for helping him leave the country unmolested[49].

The conviction follows investigations initiated by statements made by Setrouk, who in his complaint accuses PMI of organising the global black market in cigarettes, including that of France from Algeria: “Philip Morris International intentionally and actively flooded the Algerian market[50] with cheap cigarettes, knowing that a steady flow of these cigarettes would be resold in France”[51]. Setrouk said at a hearing in New York[52].

In addition to Mr. Setrouk, environmentalist MP François-Michel Lambert (LEF – Liberté écologie fraternité)[53] said he is ready to bring PMI’s management to justice[54], if the evidence provided by MSI’s director proves solid: these cigarettes “smuggled across the Mediterranean” represent 4.5% of the black market in France, causing an estimated tax loss of more than 400 million euros per year, claims Lambert[55], who has verified the fact that most of the untaxed cigarettes sold on the French market are PMI products[56].

Also thanks to Setrouk, in February 2020, cooperation between the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), Belgian Customs and Royal Malaysian Customs led to the seizure of 62.6 million cigarettes that had been smuggled into the European Union, and in January 2020, some 135 million smuggled cigarettes were seized at the port and warehouses of Antwerp, thus avoiding tax losses of more than €50 million[57]. For years Philip Morris has paid KPMG to publish an independent annual report on tobacco smuggling[58] – a report that is shared with government authorities and various NGOs to promote the fight against illicit tobacco and to give the image of a Philip Morris committed to fighting smuggling[59].

The main historical cigarette smuggling organisations, which have existed, almost unchanged in their nature, for over a century (cigarettes have been a currency since the First World War) are in Italy. The government estimates that the shortfall in excise duties has risen from 2200 billion lire a year a quarter of a century ago to 495 million euro in 2019[60]. As early as November 2000, the government joined the United States’ civil lawsuit against Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds, supporting the European Commission’s accusation that the two multinationals were “directly involved in smuggling activities” that they “concealed through illegal acts, including money laundering”[61]. Twenty years have passed, and Philip Morris’ presence in Italy, instead of diminishing, has grown[62], and the State Monopoly continues to produce Philip Morris cigarettes under licence[63].

Two alternative routes followed by illegal cigarettes smuggled from the United Arab Emirates to Algeria (2017)[64]

The fluctuating trend of the government is reflected in the turnover of cigarette smuggling: in the 2000s, tobacco smuggling in Italy suffered a sharp decline, recovering in 2008 and then doubling in 2012, until, in 2015, the country reached fifth place on the scale of illicit consumption in the whole of Europe[65]. Campania, and in particular Naples and Caserta, has for a century been the epicentre of a massive traffic (58.09% of total consumption in 2017)[66] conditioned by the economic crisis in the area. Naples is still today, as it was a hundred years ago, the queen of the import and transport of illicit whites: the business is under the direct control of the Camorra, which maintains contact with the Chinese criminality that produces the cigarettes and has representative offices in the ports of China, in the transit ports of Dubai and in the Calabrian port of Gioia Tauro[67].

The brands that they smuggle – apart from those of the multinational giants – have captivating or exotic names: Regal, Palace, Karelia, Richman, Capital, Boss, Jin Ling, Legend, Marble Mark 1, American Legend[68]. Smugglers often use lorry drivers from Belarus and Ukraine, Poland and Romania, from where the lorries reach the entire European Union[69] – especially England, Ireland and Norway[70].

The Italian police are fighting a losing battle. Smuggling, especially in Naples, is an indispensable component of the city’s economy, so much so that, in 1978, when the smugglers, organised in a trade union, first went on strike, the entire city was brought to a standstill until the State accepted an agreement: the fight against the motorboats continued, but the small-scale street smugglers were left in peace[71]. The agreement was cancelled in 1994, when new laws were passed to punish not only the dealers but also those who buy contraband cigarettes[72]. One day later, the smugglers went on strike again and the law was withdrawn[73].

The war between police and smugglers, as well as the successes on the Balkan route, moved organised crime activities even further east. In the second half of 2017, the Pakistani financial police in Mandra discovered a secret branch of the Camorra and Philip Morris: production and packaging machines[74] and a stock of almost 60 million illegal cigarettes were found[75]. So it was discovered that Philip Morris (Pakistan) Ltd was using the warehouse (an abandoned factory) to “churn out” cigarettes for the black market[76]. Only a few months earlier, Pakistani tax officials had found another illegal cigarette factory in a small valley on the border with Afghanistan: inside they reportedly found Philip Morris cigarette production equipment, but nothing is known about this investigation, the investigation has stalled[77].

Naples, 4 April 1972: Neapolitan smugglers hold a memorial service in memory of three colleagues killed by an American soldier during a botched negotiation for the delivery of stolen cigarettes[78]

PMI’s annual report on cigarette smuggling has for years pointed to a steady growth in cigarette smuggling in Pakistan, which, according to KPMG analysis, reached almost 44% of the domestic market in 2018 – a figure vehemently disputed by the Pakistan National Heart Association, which contrasts the results of its own research, which puts the percentage at 9%[79]. In any case, the pressure on the Pakistani authorities is growing, and in 2019 the government will join an international treaty called the ‘Illicit Trade Protocol’[80]. which requires governments to introduce traceability systems to determine the origin of tobacco products, and to control the movement of cigarettes[81]. The protocol is not enforced: in Pakistan, Philip Morris and Pakistan Tobacco (BAT British American Tobacco group) control 98% of the legal market – and due to the resistance of these two companies, the government fails to introduce traceability and monitoring[82].

Smuggling on the other side of the world

Durban: a typical ‘spaza’ for the sale of smuggled products: according to the Police, in KwaZulu-Natal alone, these street corner shacks turn over $1.7 million a year[83]

The routes described above supply Europe, North Africa and Asia. But one of the world’s largest tobacco-producing countries is South Africa, so when the federal government introduced a complete ban on smoking in March 2020 due to Covid-19, the entire legal market turned to smuggling – as it did with alcohol in the US during the prohibition years: according to official surveys, by August 2020 cigarette consumption had not dropped at all and only 16% said they had not smoked during the ban[84].

In a country overwhelmed by the economic crisis, where many people do not have enough to buy food and energy, the black market drove up the price of smuggled cigarettes, which rose by 90%[85] and then, when even the smugglers realised they were having difficulty supplying the entire market, by 250%[86]. At that point, the government took the only sensible decision possible, and in October prohibition was repealed. Nevertheless, the illicit industry has taken over the market: BAT estimates that by the end of 2021, the government will have lost 19.1 billion rand ($1.3 billion) compared to the previous year, counting import duties alone[87].

A study by the University of Cape Town claims that 90% of smokers were able to buy cigarettes during the blockade: cigarettes were delivered directly to their homes, and only if you are known to the smugglers, who do not want to risk being caught in the bag with large quantities of cigarettes[88]. BAT South Africa, Japan Tobacco and other manufacturers won a legal action: the suspicion of collusion between the government and the smugglers was convincing, and the court defined prohibition as unconstitutional and ordered South Africa to pay a fine to the multinationals[89]. The South African government has appealed, and the litigation is not yet over[90].

The government has now raised excise taxes on cigarettes and tobacco products by 8 percent, triggering a 9 percent increase in retail prices – but even before the bans were introduced, South Africa was one of the world’s largest markets for illegal cigarettes[91]: one-third of the domestic market is accounted for by unbranded, counterfeit or homemade cigarettes made by the operators of spazas, the retail shacks dotted around street corners[92]. It is estimated that 90% of the illegal cigarettes are produced locally in factories of licensed manufacturers who do not declare all their products to the South African Revenue Services (SARS)[93].

To combat this phenomenon, SARS tried to introduce the track-and-trace labelling system, which works well in Kenya, but the tender was immediately cancelled[94]: the Tobacco Institute of South Africa (TISA), which represents the interests of multinationals and local factories, legally damaged the tender with street demonstrations and, in May 2020, SARS abandoned the project[95]. All that was introduced was a free telephone line to anonymously report smugglers[96]. According to BAT South Africa’s Managing Director, Johnny Moloto, “illicit producers who exploited last year’s closure ban are still rampant (…). It is a national emergency that requires a full-scale investigation of the entire industry[97].

The tobacco bosses

Simon Rudland[98] (left) and Adam Molai[99] (right)

The top African country for cigarette production is Zimbabwe, which exports to China, South Africa, Belgium, the UK, Indonesia and Germany, and imports tobacco from plantations in Malawi and South Africa[100]. The Harare market is an oligopoly dominated by Simon Rudland and his GLTC (Gold Leaf Tobacco Corporation), a boss openly protected by the ruling party, Zanu-PF[101], with large production and storage centres in South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo[102]. Its cigarettes enter South Africa through the Beitbridge border (82% of illegal cigarettes entered here in 2016)[103], or at border crossings with Botswana and Mozambique[104].

Rudland, who lives in South Africa, owns a myriad of farms, holds mining concessions in Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo, a logistics company and a bus company[105]. But this does not shield him from the brutality of competition. According to Johann Van Loggerenberg[106], a former policeman and author of the book “Tobacco Wars”[107], “the tobacco industry on a global scale is not just a business. , “the South African tobacco industry is divided between established players and newcomers eating market share, and both sides have shown that they will stop at nothing to achieve supremacy”[108].

In August 2019, Simon Rudland escaped an assassination attempt: a sniper fired nine shots at him while, accompanied by his lawyers, he was on his way to a meeting at the offices of the Fair-Trade Independent Tobacco Association (FITA) – the association representing small cigarette manufacturers), but he was only wounded[109]. Rudland has been suspected of smuggling for years, and SARS claims that he owes more than 70 million euros in VAT and excise duties, and that he has several local and federal MPs on his payroll, especially in the opposition EFF party and the ANC[110]. GLTC, accused of dumping by competitors, sells its Voyager, RD, Sharp and Sahawi brands, almost exclusively in the spazas[111].

According to Van Loggerenberg, Gold Leaf sells 75% of all illegal cigarettes in South Africa[112]. According to the IPSOS study financed by BAT, of the ten most sold brands on the continent below the tax threshold, six are produced by GLTC – between 70 and 80 percent of the illicit cigarette trade[113]. Although Rudland denies it, multinationals consider it a dangerous competitor, and have launched a social campaign against GLTC (#takebackthetax), promoted with local celebrities[114].

Spaza shops of the Msholozi clan in Masoyi (Mpumalanga County, KwaZulu-Natal)[115]

Gold Leaf Tobacco’s main opponent in Zimbabwe is the Savanna Tobacco Company (as of 2017 known as Pacific Cigarette Company)[116] of Adam Molai, husband of Sandra Mugabe, grandson of former president Robert Mugabe – a guy who grew up with tobacco, as he and his wife worked for the Zimbabwe Tobacco Growing Company when they were young[117]: “I am an entrepreneur with extensive experience in management consulting, retail, tobacco, property development, smelting, mining, fuels, lubricants, beverages, insurance and general manufacturing”[118].

Savanna Tobacco produces two of South Africans’ favourite brands, Remington Blue and Pacific Blue, which are also the most counterfeit in South Africa[119]. Despite suspicions of violating tobacco production and trade laws, President Mugabe has openly supported Savanna, accusing rival British American Tobacco of spying on Savanna and hijacking its trucks: “If this is what you are doing to kill competition and you are doing it in a bad way, someone will answer for it,” Mugabe threatened[120]. As said, in the struggle for supremacy there are no forbidden blows.

Simon Rudland and Adam Molai have always fought for the South African market: Rudland, with his Livera Trading (Pvt) tried, in 2016, to take over Savanna’s market share, putting on the market cigarettes with the same package as Remington Gold, calling them RG… it took a court decision to force Gold Leaf Tobacco to withdraw RG from the market (although Rudland claimed that RG indicated his initials “George Rudland”) and cancel advertising and contracts in Zimbabwe[121]. A lost round.

After Mugabe was deposed in a coup in 2017, Adam Molai’s situation became precarious[122]. Suddenly, the new government ordered Savanna Tobacco to pay taxes it had not paid over the years: according to a former smuggler, “Adam [Molai] has lost political protection and is also under financial pressure”[123]. Molai rejects all the accusations and says he is ready to sue anyone who repeats them[124]. At the same time, in recent years a new competition has emerged and grown, at bargain prices, from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh[125], which is sold in spazas all over South Africa[126].

All roads lead to Dubai

One of the Emirates Post Office’s rooms for processing the millions of packages of cigarettes, legal and illegal, that are received and sent through the official postal system[127]

As time goes by, due to the tightening of anti-smoking measures, the improvement of law enforcement by police around the world, and the terrible competition, the global market finds new solutions: the main one is to use the United Arab Emirates to make smuggled cigarettes legal. The Abu Dhabi government has adopted the same rules for the tobacco market as it has for gold: no matter where it comes from or who sells it, it is always welcome, and in the Emirates it receives official recognition and can therefore be traded worldwide[128].

This policy encourages a continuous expansion of the sector: today there are at least ten factories producing cigarettes in the Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone[129], 45 kilometres south of Dubai – these factories turn over billions and have become the country’s fourth largest export commodity, after oil, gold and aluminium[130]. Like all the FTZs (Free Trade Zones) on the planet[131], Jebel Ali is well interconnected with nearby ports and airports[132], imposes no duties[133], and is the preferred destination of the sales offices of all the big cigarette brands: after the official multinationals, now even Adam Molai’s Savanna Trading has a branch in Jebel Ali[134].

According to Andy Carter of JTI Japan Tobacco International, “everyone knows that [the cigarettes assembled here are] produced for smuggling…. But they are legally manufactured, and it is only likely at the point of entry that the shipping documents are rigged, and any prohibited goods are turned into toys or furniture”[135]. From here, every day, dozens of cargo flights and cargo ships leave for Port Said in Egypt, for Misurata in Libya, for Famagusta in the Turkish republic of Cyprus, and from there they disappear… [136]

Today, therefore, cigarette smuggling has become a geopolitical issue of commercial supremacy. The great professionalization introduced by the government of the Emirates has solved many of the problems of the multinationals (especially Philip Morris) and has created a new global market for local and low-quality cigarettes – what the market needed to return to growing turnover after two decades of crisis due to the increasing anti-smoking legislation of most rich countries. As Al Capone said, in the Chicago of prohibition, nothing encourages trade like prohibition.

[1] https://www.askanews.it/video/2015/11/17/lisis-si-finanzia-anche-con-il-contrabbando-di-sigarette-20151117_video_14575316/ ; https://www.econotimes.com/Industry-insider-complaint-threatens-to-upset-Big-Tobaccos-applecart-1598476 ; https://www.ilmessaggero.it/economia/news/contrabbando_petrolio_sigarette_criminalita_terrorismo-4503862.html ; https://www.adnkronos.com/terrorismo-capaldo-contrabbando-sigarette-contribuisce-a-finanziamento_3HYo9GbkT6ZKhEAFKVUcC

[2] https://www.occrp.org/en/loosetobacco/without-a-trace/the-eus-track-trace-smokescreen

[3] https://www.bat.com/theman# ; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1766170/

[4] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+IM-PRESS+20070906STO10166+0+DOC+PDF+V0//IT&language=IT ; http://pianetatabacco.it/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Tabacco-e-Cronaca.pdf

[5] https://ec.europa.eu/anti-fraud/investigations/eu-revenue/bat_de

[6] https://www.swissinfo.ch/ita/dopo-la-fiscalit%C3%A0-il-tabacco_la-svizzera-chiude-gli-occhi-sul-contrabbando-di-sigarette/42035800

[7] https://www.eunews.it/2016/07/07/tabacco-ue-non-rinnova-accordo-anti-contrabbando-con-philip-morris/63848 ; https://www.eunews.it/2016/03/09/lotta-al-contrabbando-di-sigarette-dalleuroparlamento-primo-no-collaborare-con-aziende-produttrici/52777

[8] https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Tobacco-smuggling-routes-According-to-a-comprehensive-EU-strategy_fig1_336792031

[9] https://altreconomia.it/il-business-del-fumo-sempre-piu-a-sud-ae-15-2/

[10] https://altreconomia.it/il-business-del-fumo-sempre-piu-a-sud-ae-15-2/

[11] https://altreconomia.it/il-business-del-fumo-sempre-piu-a-sud-ae-15-2/

[12] https://www.31mag.nl/https-www-brusselstimes-com-brussels-2-137863-belgian-customs-dismantle-illegal-cigarette-factory-in-brussels-molenbeek-saint-jean-federal-public-finance-service-marlboro-europol-european-anti-fraud/

[13] https://www.swissinfo.ch/ita/dopo-la-fiscalit%C3%A0-il-tabacco_la-svizzera-chiude-gli-occhi-sul-contrabbando-di-sigarette/42035800

[14] https://www.swissinfo.ch/ita/dopo-la-fiscalit%C3%A0-il-tabacco_la-svizzera-chiude-gli-occhi-sul-contrabbando-di-sigarette/42035800

[15] https://altreconomia.it/il-business-del-fumo-sempre-piu-a-sud-ae-15-2/

[16] https://www.geopolitica.info/una-mappa-del-contrabbando-di-sigarette-in-italia-criminalita-locali-e-reti-globali/

[17] https://poliziamoderna.poliziadistato.it/articolo/56c491191daf6240600220#:~:text=Dalla%20primavera%20del%201999%2C%20con,e%20utilizzare%20i%20porti%20montenegrini.

[18] https://poliziamoderna.poliziadistato.it/articolo/56c491191daf6240600220#:~:text=Dalla%20primavera%20del%201999%2C%20con,e%20utilizzare%20i%20porti%20montenegrini.

[19] https://altreconomia.it/il-business-del-fumo-sempre-piu-a-sud-ae-15-2/

[20] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lt9-G9Cz–I ;

[21] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2021998/its-all-greek-hong-kong-customs-officers-make-biggest

[22] ΙΝΩ ΚΑΡΕΛΙΑ ΤΟΜΠΑΚΟ ΑΝΩΝΥΜΗ ΒΙΟΜΗΧΑΝΙΚΗ ΕΤΑΙΡΙΑ ΣΙΓΑΡΕΤΤΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΠΡΟΙΟΝΤΑ ΚΑΠΝΟΥ :: Greece :: OpenCorporates ; ΚΑΡΕΛΙΑ ΕΠΕΝΔΥΤΙΚΗ ΑΝΩΝΥΜΟΣ ΕΤΑΙΡΕΙΑ :: Greece :: OpenCorporates ; ΚΑΡΕΛΙΑ ΤΡΕΙΝΤΙΝΓΚ ΑΝΩΝΥΜΗ ΕΜΠΟΡΙΚΗ ΚΑΙ ΒΙΟΜΗΧΑΝΙΚΗ ΕΤΑΙΡΙΑ :: Greece :: OpenCorporates

[23] https://www.pmi.com/resources/docs/default-source/pmi-sustainability/report-on-the-illicit-cigarette-trade-in-the-maghreb-region.pdf?sfvrsn=67a69ab5_2

[24] “КАРЕЛИЯ – 2007” ООД :: Bulgaria :: OpenCorporates ; “КАРЕЛИЯ – ЛАЙФ” ЕООД :: Bulgaria :: OpenCorporates ; “КАРЕЛИЯ 2000” ЕООД :: Bulgaria :: OpenCorporates ; “КАРЕЛИЯ 2011” ООД :: Bulgaria :: OpenCorporates ; “КАРЕЛИЯ-РТ” ООД :: Bulgaria :: OpenCorporates

[25] https://www.occrp.org/index.php/en/projects/tobacco-project/31-bulgaria/58-bulgarian-smuggling

[26] https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/19/5/380.full

[27] Coveting Iran: the infiltration and exploitation of Iran by global cigarette companies, World Health Organization, September 2001, see more: https://applications.emro.who.int/dsaf/EMRPUB_2001_En_767.pdf

[28] Coveting Iran: the infiltration and exploitation of Iran by global cigarette companies, World Health Organization, September 2001, see more: https://applications.emro.who.int/dsaf/EMRPUB_2001_En_767.pdf p. 5, 9 and 10

[29] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2021998/its-all-greek-hong-kong-customs-officers-make-biggest

[30] Coveting Iran: the infiltration and exploitation of Iran by global cigarette companies, World Health Organization, September 2001, see more: https://applications.emro.who.int/dsaf/EMRPUB_2001_En_767.pdf

[31] https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/12/24/world/24-sanctions.html

[32] https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/19/5/380.full

[33] http://iranjournal.org/politik/ein-staat-lebt-vom-schmuggel

[34] https://www.signalhire.com/companies/al-rashideen-trading-co-l-l-c

[35] UNITED TOBACCO GROUP, INC. :: Panama :: OpenCorporates

[36] https://www.generationsanstabac.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Raoul-Setrouk-and-MSINTELLIGENCE-Msi-Market-Survey-Intelligence-Sarl-vs-Philip-Morris-International-Inc..pdf

[37] https://www.generationsanstabac.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Raoul-Setrouk-and-MSINTELLIGENCE-Msi-Market-Survey-Intelligence-Sarl-vs-Philip-Morris-International-Inc..pdf

[38] https://www.generationsanstabac.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Raoul-Setrouk-and-MSINTELLIGENCE-Msi-Market-Survey-Intelligence-Sarl-vs-Philip-Morris-International-Inc..pdf

[39] https://www.moneyhouse.ch/it/company/msintelligence-msi-market-survey-intelligence-12889486501

[40] https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/13413-complaint-phillip-morris-smuggled-smokes-distorted-data ; https://www.generationsanstabac.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Raoul-Setrouk-and-MSINTELLIGENCE-Msi-Market-Survey-Intelligence-Sarl-vs-Philip-Morris-International-Inc..pdf ; https://www.econotimes.com/Industry-insider-complaint-threatens-to-upset-Big-Tobaccos-applecart-1598476

[41] https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/13413-complaint-phillip-morris-smuggled-smokes-distorted-data ; https://www.generationsanstabac.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Raoul-Setrouk-and-MSINTELLIGENCE-Msi-Market-Survey-Intelligence-Sarl-vs-Philip-Morris-International-Inc..pdf

[42] Recent press reports from Algeria detail volumes of tobacco that cannot be destined for the Algerian domestic retail market and instead can only be explained by the conscious production of PMI for the illegal export market. For example, Algerian customs authorities have recently seized more than 617,000 packs of smuggled cigarettes from Algerian PMI production, see also: https://www.generationsanstabac.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Raoul-Setrouk-and-MSINTELLIGENCE-Msi-Market-Survey-Intelligence-Sarl-vs-Philip-Morris-International-Inc..pdf ; https://www.transcrime.it/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Nexus.Booklet4-Maghreb-Route-WEB.pdf

[43] https://www.generationsanstabac.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Raoul-Setrouk-and-MSINTELLIGENCE-Msi-Market-Survey-Intelligence-Sarl-vs-Philip-Morris-International-Inc..pdf ; https://www.transcrime.it/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Nexus.Booklet4-Maghreb-Route-WEB.pdf

[44] https://www.lejdd.fr/Societe/trafic-de-tabac-laccusateur-suisse-qui-fait-trembler-philip-morris-4014801

[45] https://www.lejdd.fr/Societe/tabac-les-fumeuses-manoeuvres-de-philip-morris-pour-controler-la-tracabilite-des-cigarettes-3710306

[46] https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/news/genuine-cigarettes-smuggling-from-algeria-gives-brussels-another-headache/

[47] https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/news/genuine-cigarettes-smuggling-from-algeria-gives-brussels-another-headache/

[48] https://ibiworld.eu/2021/09/17/gregoire-verdeaux-lamico-che-gestisce-il-tesoro/

[49] https://algeriepart.com/2019/08/29/exclusif-cheikh-al-sheebani-les-valises-de-devises-a-laeroport-dalger-et-les-6-officiers-condamnes-a-20-ans-de-prison-ferme-par-le-tribunal-militaire-de-blida/

[50] https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/news/genuine-cigarettes-smuggling-from-algeria-gives-brussels-another-headache/

[51] Flows from Algeria to France have increased by 300% since 2012, when the volumes of cigarettes legally produced in Algeria that are smuggled into France increased from 1.08 billion in 2012 to 3.19 billion in 2016, see also: https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/news/genuine-cigarettes-smuggling-from-algeria-gives-brussels-another-headache/

[52] https://www.generationsanstabac.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Raoul-Setrouk-and-MSINTELLIGENCE-Msi-Market-Survey-Intelligence-Sarl-vs-Philip-Morris-International-Inc..pdf ; https://themaghrebtimes.com/why-is-algeria-at-the-heart-of-the-cigarette-trafficking-in-france-which-is-knowingly-organized-by-philip-morris/ ; https://www.lejdd.fr/Societe/trafic-de-tabac-laccusateur-suisse-qui-fait-trembler-philip-morris-4014801

[53] https://www2.assemblee-nationale.fr/deputes/fiche/OMC_PA605518

[54] https://revuedestabacs.com/blog/d%C3%A9put%C3%A9-fran%C3%A7ois-michel-lambert-un-signalement-au-procureur-contre-pmi-pour-organisation-du-commerce-parall%C3%A8le-de-tabac/ ; https://www.lejdd.fr/Societe/trafic-de-tabac-laccusateur-suisse-qui-fait-trembler-philip-morris-4014801

[55] https://revuedestabacs.com/blog/d%C3%A9put%C3%A9-fran%C3%A7ois-michel-lambert-un-signalement-au-procureur-contre-pmi-pour-organisation-du-commerce-parall%C3%A8le-de-tabac/ ; https://www.lejdd.fr/Societe/trafic-de-tabac-laccusateur-suisse-qui-fait-trembler-philip-morris-4014801

[56] https://themaghrebtimes.com/why-is-algeria-at-the-heart-of-the-cigarette-trafficking-in-france-which-is-knowingly-organized-by-philip-morris/ ; https://www.lejdd.fr/Societe/trafic-de-tabac-laccusateur-suisse-qui-fait-trembler-philip-morris-4014801

[57] https://ec.europa.eu/anti-fraud/media-corner/news/18-02-2020/successful-international-operation-seized-more-62-million-smuggled_en

[58] https://www.stopillegal.com/docs/default-source/external-docs/kpmg-report—illicit-cigarette-consumption-in-the-eu-uk-norway-and-switzerland—2020-results.pdf

[59] https://www.generationsanstabac.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Raoul-Setrouk-and-MSINTELLIGENCE-Msi-Market-Survey-Intelligence-Sarl-vs-Philip-Morris-International-Inc..pdf

[60] https://www.pmi.com/markets/italy/it/sostenibilita/sostenibilita-sociale/lotta-all’illecito

[61] https://www.repubblica.it/online/cronaca/verda/philip/philip.html

[62] https://ibiworld.eu/2021/01/07/movimento-5-stelle-e-lega-nord-prove-generali-per-uninternazionale-post-fascista/ ; https://ibiworld.eu/2021/01/07/la-philip-morris-va-alla-guerra-alleata-a-suprematisti-populisti-e-sceicchi-arabi/

[63] https://altreconomia.it/il-business-del-fumo-sempre-piu-a-sud-ae-15-2/

[64] Cigarette Trafficking: Introducing the Transnational Dimension of Cigarette Tracking in Europe and Beyond; Nexus, 2019, see more: https://www.transcrime.it/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Nexus.Booklet1-Cigarette-Trafficking-WEB.pdf , p.29

[65] https://www.geopolitica.info/una-mappa-del-contrabbando-di-sigarette-in-italia-criminalita-locali-e-reti-globali/

[66] https://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/contrabbando-sigarette-mille-trucchi-traffico-sotto-occhi-camorra–AERsKlfE

[67] https://www.geopolitica.info/una-mappa-del-contrabbando-di-sigarette-in-italia-criminalita-locali-e-reti-globali/

[68] https://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/contrabbando-sigarette-mille-trucchi-traffico-sotto-occhi-camorra–AERsKlfE

[69] https://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/contrabbando-sigarette-mille-trucchi-traffico-sotto-occhi-camorra–AERsKlfE

[70] https://www.viagginews.com/2020/01/20/costo-sigarette-europa-mondo/ ; http://hikersbay.com/prices/norway?lang=it#:~:text=Le%20sigarette%20sono%20pi%C3%B9%20costose,13%20EUR%20(130%20NOK). ; https://www.viagginews.com/2020/01/20/costo-sigarette-europa-mondo/

[71] https://spazio70.com/societa-e-cultura/facce-da-anni-settanta/il-collettivo-autonomo-contrabbandieri-nelle-parole-di-luciano-de-crescenzo/

[72] https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1994/02/10/contrabbandieri-in-rivolta-dai-vicoli-invadono-le.html

[73] https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1992/11/06/evviva-lo-sciopero-napoli-il-trionfo.html

[74] https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/207731-FBR-discovers-non-tax-paid-cigarettes-at-warehouse

[75] https://www.occrp.org/en/loosetobacco/without-a-trace/pakistans-big-tobacco-problem

[76] https://www.occrp.org/en/loosetobacco/without-a-trace/pakistans-big-tobacco-problem

[77] https://www.occrp.org/en/loosetobacco/without-a-trace/pakistans-big-tobacco-problem

[78] https://www.facebook.com/gliannisettanta/posts/napoli-4-aprile-1972-contrabbandieri-partenopei-celebrano-in-mare-una-cerimonia-/1787803791289417/

[79] https://www.occrp.org/en/loosetobacco/without-a-trace/pakistans-big-tobacco-problem

[80] https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IX-4-a&chapter=9&clang=_en

[81] https://www.occrp.org/en/loosetobacco/without-a-trace/pakistans-big-tobacco-problem

[82] https://tribune.com.pk/story/2217335/2-pakistan-can-earn-rs50b-curbing-illicit-tobacco-trade

[83] https://africaincmag.com/sa-sme-fund-and-a2pay-partner-to-boost-spaza-shops-with-us1-68m/

[84] https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/early/2021/07/04/tobaccocontrol-2020-056293

[85] https://tobaccotactics.org/wiki/south-africa-country-profile/

[86] https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/early/2021/07/04/tobaccocontrol-2020-056293

[87] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-31/bat-warns-of-south-africa-tobacco-tax-shortfall-after-sales-ban

[88] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/08/world/africa/coronavirus-south-africa-tobacco-alcohol-ban.html

[89] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/8/19/tobacco-companies-sue-south-african-government-over-smoking-ban ; https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-30/bat-appeals-to-court-after-south-africa-digs-in-on-tobacco-ban

[90] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-31/bat-warns-of-south-africa-tobacco-tax-shortfall-after-sales-ban

[91] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-31/bat-warns-of-south-africa-tobacco-tax-shortfall-after-sales-ban

[92] http://www.batsa.co.za/group/sites/BAT_A2ELAD.nsf/vwPagesWebLive/DOALBKMH#

[93] http://www.batsa.co.za/group/sites/BAT_A2ELAD.nsf/vwPagesWebLive/DOALBKMH#

[94] https://africatimes.com/2019/09/30/why-track-trace-is-the-solution-for-south-africas-tobacco-wars/

[95] https://tobaccotactics.org/wiki/track-and-trace/

[96] https://www.stopillegal.com/blog/detail/ban-on-cigarette-sales-deepens-illicit-trade-problem-in-south-africa

[97] https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/companies/south-africa-is-sinking-under-a-tide-of-illicit-cigarettes-batsa-13a69f1a-0ac2-4792-8b57-47566d3a10c6

[98] https://www.financialgazette.co.zw/tobacco-industry-remains-under-cloud-as-rudland-speaks-on-attempted-sa-assassination/

[99] http://www.pacificcigarette.com/leadership/adam-molai/

[100] https://www.forbesafrica.com/entrepreneurs/2012/09/01/the-golden-leaf/

[101] https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/The_Illicit_Tobacco_Trade_in_Zimbabwe_and_South_Africa.pdf

[102] https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/The_Illicit_Tobacco_Trade_in_Zimbabwe_and_South_Africa.pdf

[103] https://thestandard.newsday.co.zw/2016/12/04/face-face-beitbridges-daring-smuggling-syndicates/ ; https://www.insurancechat.co.za/2014-02/hawks-probe-cigarette-smuggling-at-beit-bridge/

[104] https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/The_Illicit_Tobacco_Trade_in_Zimbabwe_and_South_Africa.pdf

[105] https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/The_Illicit_Tobacco_Trade_in_Zimbabwe_and_South_Africa.pdf

[106] He was head of the High Risk Investigation Unit on behalf of the South African Revenue Service (Sars). From 2007 to 2014, his unit conducted 81 investigations and made a serious foray into the tobacco industry, see more: https://africatimes.com/2019/09/30/why-track-trace-is-the-solution-for-south-africas-tobacco-wars/

[107] https://www.amazon.com/Tobacco-Wars-southern-Africas-cigarette-ebook/dp/B07VS4GBNQ

[108] https://www.news24.com/news24/SouthAfrica/News/tobacco-wars-hits-threats-and-secret-ops-behind-the-simon-rudland-attempted-hit-20190817

[109] https://www.news24.com/news24/SouthAfrica/News/tobacco-wars-hits-threats-and-secret-ops-behind-the-simon-rudland-attempted-hit-20190817 ; https://www.financialgazette.co.zw/tobacco-industry-remains-under-cloud-as-rudland-speaks-on-attempted-sa-assassination/

[110] https://sa411.co.za/footage-shows-attempted-hit-on-cigarette-baron-adriano-mazzotti/

[111] https://www.news24.com/news24/SouthAfrica/News/tobacco-wars-hits-threats-and-secret-ops-behind-the-simon-rudland-attempted-hit-20190817

[112] https://africatimes.com/2019/09/30/why-track-trace-is-the-solution-for-south-africas-tobacco-wars/

[113] https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/The_Illicit_Tobacco_Trade_in_Zimbabwe_and_South_Africa.pdf

[114] http://www.takebackthetax.org/ ; https://www.lbbonline.com/news/takebackthetax-ignites-change-to-tackle-the-illegal-cigarette-trade-in-south-africa ; https://africatimes.com/2019/09/30/why-track-trace-is-the-solution-for-south-africas-tobacco-wars/

[115] https://lowvelder.co.za/614206/municipality-issues-2-635-temporary-permits-informal-traders/

[116] http://www.pacificcigarette.com/about-us/

[117] https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/lifestyle/2013-12-29-mugabe-link-to-illegal-cigarette-trade/

[118] https://www.africanleadershipmagazine.co.uk/zimbabwe-my-relationship-with-mugabe-not-responsible-for-my-business-success-adam-molai/