OLAF and partners boost cooperation against tobacco fraud

The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), in co-operation with Finnish customs, organized the Annual OLAF Tobacco Conference from 16-18 September in Helsinki, Finland. The event focused on the latest fraud trends and challenges in order to strengthen the fight against tobacco fraud.

Tobacco smuggling and illicit production remains a persistent and evolving threat and continue to pose a significant challenge worldwide, depriving public budgets of billions in tax revenue and undermining public health policies. This year’s discussions focused on new routes and emerging fraud schemes.

The growing popularity of vaping products, especially among young consumers, makes it an attractive market for fraudsters. Customs agencies across the globe face significant complexity on tackling this phenomenon and agreed on strengthening their co-operation, exchange intelligence and coordinate enforcement efforts.

The event brought together over 100 stakeholders from all EU member states and key partner countries, including Australia, China, Egypt, Norway Türkiye, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. Europol and WCO also attended the event.

Acting Director-General of OLAF Salla Saastamoinen underlined: “Fraudsters constantly adapt to exploit new products and loopholes. Organized crime is attracted by the illicit gains that these traffics can bring. By working closely with customs and enforcement authorities worldwide, we can better protect citizens’ health, safeguard revenues and dismantle the illicit networks behind this trade, improving security in Europe.”

Samy Gardemeister, director at Finnish Customs, added: “Customs needs to look at the entire supply chain regarding imports. In addition, in the Finnish case the port security is crucial. Non-compliant, illicit products are also produced in the EU. To counter that threat we need close cooperation with all parties and intelligence and information sharing, added by new technologies.”

The conference, now in its 28^th edition, remains a cornerstone of OLAF’s strategy to foster operational cooperation, exchange intelligence and strengthen collective responses against tobacco fraud. By bringing together customs authorities, international partners and other stakeholders, it provides a unique platform to address emerging threats and reinforce the global fight against illicit tobacco.

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