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Counterfeiters | Russia, Turkey
Putin weaponises counterfeit luxury goods amid Ukraine war

By Noëmie Leclercq

Published on 09.02.2023 at 06:30 GMT Reading time 3 min

Vladimir Putin facilitates the transit of luxury counterfeit goods through Russia, as well as their manufacture. © Studio Pachamama

One of Russian President Vladimir Putin's responses to Western support for Ukraine has been to make it much easier for fake luxury products to transit through - and be manufactured in - his country.

In December 2022, the Global Anti-Counterfeiting Group (GACG) paid a low-key visit to Turkey. At the heart of that mission were discussions with local authorities about Ankara's refusal to implement existing international legislation on counterfeiting. They were also about Turkey's

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Counterfeiters
Xi Jinping's superfake hubs institutionalise state counterfeiting

Though it is the leading market for Western luxury goods companies, China has consistently encouraged Chinese consumers to purchase high-end domestic brands. Having largely failed in this endeavour, Beijing is now happy to turn a blind eye to its own thriving counterfeiting industry, which boasts entire shopping centres on home soil that trade in fake goods.

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China is now touting its counterfeiting prowess as proof that it can compete on equal terms with the Western luxury industry.

Spotlight
Luxury brands scramble to protect their trademarks in Russia

Banned from the Russian market since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, luxury goods companies are closely following peace talks, hoping to be able to return to Moscow. In the meantime, they are fighting tooth and nail to prevent Russian operators from taking advantage of any forfeiture of their intellectual property rights.

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Luxury fashion houses are deploying a raft of strategies to prevent the hijacking of their intellectual property rights in Russia.

Turkish counterfeiters up their game with double fake label trick

In Istanbul, counterfeiters are now also adding labels from online retailers such as Farfetch to the products they sell.

Subscribers only Turkey Entourage 17.04.2025

China may open counterfeit floodgates in retaliation for US tariffs

China is mulling giving free rein to counterfeiters, particularly those which target US luxury brands, in response to Donald Trump's harsh new tariffs. Russia had a similar reaction two years ago in response to US support for Ukraine.

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Front Row
Cumali Demirci, the counterfeiter thumbing his nose at Hermès

Like the brand whose iconic bags he knocks off, the Turkish-based manufacturer of fake Birkins and Kellys has waiting lists and an Instagram account, and is giving the luxury house's legal department a hard time.

Subscribers only France, Turkey Entourage 20.02.2025

Turkish national Cumali Demirci is taking advantage of the lax attitude the authorities in Ankara have adopted towards counterfeiting.

In Focus
Exotic skins sector disrupted by Hermès's surplus stock

Hermès's super secretive precious skins division is facing a major problem hitherto kept under wraps: its stocks of lower quality skins have skyrocketed, forcing the company to go to great lengths to get rid of them.

Subscribers only France Houses 09.01.2025

Hermès's precious skins division is facing a major problem: its stocks of lower quality skins have skyrocketed.

Counterfeiters selling out their hot fakes on Shopify

The Canadian firm's online sales services, which are used by a number of luxury brands, are also used by copycat companies to sell their fake goods.

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Anti-fraud services and tax authorities target Instagram 'live' luxury sales

The rising numbers of Instagram accounts selling luxury bags, jewellery and clothing items are getting a close look from anti-fraud services on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as from tax authorities. In providing a distribution channel with little regulation, the app is being used by counterfeiting networks and money launderers alike.

Free access Europe, United States Entourage 22.02.2024

Fraud investigation services are closely monitoring sales of counterfeit luxury goods on Instagram.

Paris vies to vanquish counterfeit sales before Olympics

With the city's summer Olympic Games approaching the starting blocks, Paris authorities are cracking down on counterfeit clothing sold in the French capital. Their top target is a flea market a stone's throw from the Athletes' Village.

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Counterfeiters hone in on luxury

European customs authorities have recorded a significant decrease in seizures of counterfeit products. But while the number of seizures has dropped, the value of products seized is steadily increasing, as counterfeiters shift their focus to luxury products.

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Lifting the lid on the Turkish venture that allows Lacoste to sell in Russia

To continue selling to the Russian market despite EU sanctions, Lacoste operates via a Turkish intermediary. But a closer look at who owns the third-party company reveals it is far from an independent go-between.

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Lacoste sidesteps sanctions to keep sales in Russia afloat

The brand with the iconic crocodile logo denies that it still sells its products in Russia. But, to avoid a drastic decline in sales, one of its partners does so on its behalf.

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Soaring electricity prices hit production chains at Vuitton and Chanel

The Velcorex group, which supplies Chanel's tweed and Louis Vuitton's monogrammed canvas, has been hit hard by rising gas and electricity prices.

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Credible fakes pose real problems for Hermès

For just a few thousand euros, a discreet Chinese retailer has been providing the French brand's demanding customers with fake Birkin and Kelly bags that are nearly identical to the originals.

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Laundering through luxury: French authorities fear revival of 'daigou' technique as Chinese tourists return

The networks involved in a sophisticated laundering technique that relies on artificially VAT-free luxury purchases made in Europe and resold in China lay dormant during the Covid-19 pandemic. But they may soon spring back to life as EU borders reopen to Chinese tourists.

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High-end tailors Stefano Ricci and Zilli slip through cracks amid Ukraine War sanctions

While most major luxury houses have closed their boutiques in Russia following European sanctions, a handful of brands has continued to sell to local clients.

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Spotlight
Putin's heavy-handed support pushes Russian watchmaker Raketa to seek business in the Gulf

Having unintentionally become the emblem of self-sufficiency for Russian luxury goods, the Franco-British-owned Russian watchmaker Raketa is investing heavily in the Middle East to compensate for losses in its European markets.

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Spotlight
Luxury sector eludes effort to seal Ukraine sanctions loopholes

After Moscow annexed four Ukrainian regions last week, the European Union and the United States sought to tighten the grip of sanctions already in place against Russia, particularly over the trade in luxury goods. But at the eleventh hour, brands that have long prospered from their Russian clientele have managed once more to slip through the cracks in Europe.

Free access Russia Entourage 06.10.2022

One of the first packages of EU sanctions banned luxury groups from doing business in Russia.

Headlines

The complex business arrangements of 49-year-old Brit Steve Dellar failed to put the French taxman off his scent.

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Counterfeiters | Russia, Turkey
Putin weaponises counterfeit luxury goods amid Ukraine war