Tackling illegal trade
The illegal tobacco trade is no trivial matter - taken as a whole it constitutes the third largest ‘supplier’ of tobacco in the world, and the estimated loss of tax revenues around the globe is approximately USD 40 billion. That means that for every 1% we can ‘take back’ from the criminals, governments are effectively increasing their revenue by USD 400 million.
We firmly believe in our right to protect our brands, trademarks and business from criminal activity, and during the three-year period 2020 to 2022 our Anti-Illicit Trade Operations (AITO) team has assisted LEAs with seizures of over eight billion illegal cigarettes or grams of illegal tobacco.
It’s essential that we - and the tobacco sector as a whole - are able to continue to play a role in the fight against illegal trade, working in partnership and cooperation providing authorities with industry expertise and quality information on criminal operations, locations and methods.
Aspirational goal
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We will ensure the Company is included in policymaking leading to fair and balanced regulation and enhance our cooperation with governments to combat illegal trade.
Target
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We will engage in dialogue with law enforcement agencies, with the goal of exchanging intelligence regarding illegal tobacco products, in order to support the reduction of illegal tobacco products.
Progress
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In 2022, our Anti-Illicit Trade team provided 2,000 intelligence reports to law enforcement agencies and advised 1,956 law enforcement officers on counterfeit recognition.
Read more about our latest progress on the JT Group's tobacco business sustainability strategy.
Read about What we’re doing to fight illegal trade