Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

1,3 million objects have been seized by the anti-counterfeiting operational group in the last 3 years

Milan, September 23 2021 – On the occasion of the Milan Fashion Week women's collection, the local police gazebo "In the network of fakes" returns tomorrow, Friday 24 September, to Piazza San Carlo: an opportunity to discuss with citizens on the issues of commercial illegal activity, with particular regarding counterfeit products.

Estimates speak of a global turnover linked to counterfeiting of 509 billion euros per year (3,1% of goods traded in the world). As for Italy, OECD data speak of a value of 12,4 billion euros in counterfeiting, with over 88.000 jobs lost. Consumers are also at risk if caught red-handed in the purchase of fake goods: the fines in this case range from 100 to 700 euros.

The anti-counterfeiting operational group (GOAC) of the local police of Milan, from September 2018 to today, has carried out over 9.200 checks, ascertaining 3.400 violations, identifying various places of sale and storage, reporting 350 people and seizing over 1,3 million counterfeit objects: bags, belts, shoes, wallets, glasses, costume jewellery, cosmetics, perfumes, drugs and toys. A work carried out to protect legality, against unfair competition and to safeguard the health of citizens, since counterfeit goods often contain chemical substances and dyes that can be harmful.

From 10am to 18pm tomorrow, in Piazza San Carlo, the local police of Milan will be supported by staff from the Milan Chamber of Commerce and INDICAM and by a representative of the local police of Genoa. "In the fake network" is in fact an initiative promoted by ANCI, in collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Health, aimed at establishing a collaborative relationship between the local police forces in Italy.

As with previous editions, during the day, in addition to distributing information leaflets, a sampling of various types of seized products will be displayed: visitors will thus have the opportunity to closely observe some counterfeit goods and learn to distinguish them from an original product.