Amazon announced it has established a new Counterfeit Crimes Unit to bring to justice those who violate the law and Amazon’s policies by listing counterfeit products in its store.
The unit is a global, multi-disciplinary team composed of former federal prosecutors, experienced investigators and data analysts.
In 2019, Amazon invested over $500 million, and had more than 8,000 employees fighting fraud. It blocked more than 6 billion suspected bad listings and more than 2.5 million suspected “bad actor” accounts before they were able to make a single product available for sale.
“Every counterfeiter is on notice that they will be held accountable to the maximum extent possible under the law, regardless of where they attempt to sell their counterfeits or where they’re located,” said Dharmesh Mehta, vice president, customer trust and partner support, Amazon. “We are working hard to disrupt and dismantle these criminal networks, and we applaud the law enforcement authorities who are already part of this fight. We urge governments to give these authorities the investigative tools, funding and resources they need to bring criminal counterfeiters to justice because criminal enforcement – through prosecution and other disruption measures, such as freezing assets – is one of the most effective ways to stop them.”
In May, Amazon identified counterfeiters based in Canada, China, Dominican Republic, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States, and referred each to relevant national authorities.