Revue FH - 22 March 2012
Yves Bugmann
In 2011, a number of spectacular operations were carried out by the FH leading to on the spot seizures of thousands of counterfeit items. In Brazil, large-scale actions have resulted in several million products of all kinds being removed from the market, including the sequestration of around 100,000 watches. In view of the major events lined up for this country (Olympic Games in Rio and football World Cup), the Brazilian authorities seem to be making the fight against counterfeiting a priority. We must hope that this is no mere flash in the pan! The FH is pleased to note therefore that the strategy is bearing fruit in that country, that the visibility of counterfeit products has fallen considerably, and that fake watches have also become more of a rarity in shop windows.
For a number of years, the FH has carried out successful operations in the Caribbean. In February last year another important raid was carried out in Saint Martin, in the West Indies. This action resulted in the seizure of more than 3,200 counterfeit watches affecting several Swiss brands.
Because of their geostrategic position and their huge free zones, the United Arab Emirates are considered a major hub of counterfeiting. The FH, active for many years in this region, joined forces in 2011 with a new local intermediary offering investigative and legal services. At the end of September, based on investigations and ensuing criminal charges, the police conducted a search of two apartments used as warehouses by Chinese nationals. These actions resulted in the seizure of more than 7,000 fake Swiss watches. Acts of violence are to be deplored, but fortunately only one person was slightly injured. Following this incident, the local police were instructed to arm themselves when conducting future operations of this kind.
In Italy, the FH is on the point of negotiating a cooperation agreement with the Guardia di Finanza (GdF). This unit has more than 70,000 agents on its payroll. It is particularly active in the fight against counterfeiting and has been successful on many occasions in this field; for example, in July 2010 it dismantled a clandestine workshop for the assembly of counterfeit watches in Prato, seizing more than 800,000 timepieces. The main problem when seizures are made is that multiple brands are involved, making the identification of sequestrated products no easy task. Hitherto the GdF has had to contact each watch brand separately, which has slowed down the procedure considerably. To optimise these actions and strengthen the links between the two parties, the FH and the GdF plan to sign a cooperation agreement, the main aim of which would be to remove the responsibility for identifying timepieces from manufacturers and hand it instead to specialist FH employees.
In 2011, the FH noted an increase in the number of seizures made in Greece. Several hundreds of thousands of fake watches were discovered by police in storage facilities in Athens. Collaboration with the authorities does not always run smoothly and the FH remains vigilant to ensure that seized products are destroyed as quickly as possible.
