Organ Trafficking Market Value: $50 Million
Havocscope is currently estimating the illicit market value for organ trafficking to be $50 million based on the following sources.
1. According to the World Health Organization, the average price paid to a kidney donor on the black market is ” likely to be about US $5000.
2. An article from Reuters quoted [...]
Counterfeit Dollars Market Value: $61 Million
The Counterfeit Dollars market consists of producing and utilizing currency that was not created under the authority of the United States Government.
$61 million counterfeit dollars were passed into circulation.
Source: United States Treasury Department, ” The Use and Counterfeiting of the United States Currency Aboard, Part 3” , Final Report to the Congress by [...]
Counterfeit Purses Market Value: $70 Million
Counterfeit Purses are products that are sold as brand items without the authority of the legitimate brand name owner.
One company estimates losses up to $70 million to counterfeit purses.
Source: Caitlin Ingrassia, “Knockoffs Go Suburban,” Wall Street Journal, January 16, 2004.
Nuclear Smuggling Market Value: $100 Million
According to published reports, Libya paid at least $100 million in the black market to Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan for nuclear weapons equipment and expertise.
Source: Matt Kelly, ” Nuclear weapons parts cost Libya $100 million,” San Diego Union-Tribune, March 16, 2004, and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, “Issue Brief: Non-Proliferation, A.Q. Khan Nuclear Chronology,” [...]
Counterfeit Cuban Cigars Market Value: $100 Million
Counterfeit Cuban Cigars are fake cigars that are sold under Cuban brand names.
Hundred of millions of dollars are believed to be lost to counterfeit Cubans annually.
Source: Doreen Hemlock, ” Beware of cigar imposters” , South Florida Sun-Sentinel, April 9, 2006.
Counterfeit Toys Market Value: $131 Million
Counterfeit Toys Market Value based on several sources.
Counterfeit Toys in Brazil: $31 million in losses. Source: Brazil-U.S. Business Council, “Counterfeiting and Piracy in Brazil: The Economic Impact,” 2004, (accessed: October 9. 2005.).
Counterfeit Toys in Australia: $100 million. Source: The Allen Consulting Group, “Counterfeiting of Toys, Business Software, and Computer and Video Games,” November 2003,(accessed: January [...]
Counterfeit Alcohol Market Value: $300 Million
Counterfeit Alcohol is the selling of cheap, fake alcohol under brand names.
The International Federation of Spirits Producers stated that counterfeit alcohol leads to an estimated Euro 500 to 600 million ($700 million) annual loss.
Source: Neil Merrett, ” Czech sting reveals Eastern Europe’s fake spirits boom,” CEE-Foodinustry.com, August 3, 2006, (accessed: September 25, 2007).
Kidnap and Ransom Market Value: $500 Million
The Foreign Policy Centre, a think-tank located in the Untied Kingdom, estimated in 2001 that “kidnappers globally take home well over $500 million each year - and rising.”
Source: Rachel Briggs, “The Kidnapping Business,” The Foreign Policy Centre, 2001, pg.1,
(accessed: February 19, 2007).
Counterfeit Sports Memorabilia and Sporting Goods Market Value: $500 Million
The Counterfeit Sports Memorabilia and Equipment market consists of two separate but related industries. The Counterfeit Sports Memorabilia market consists of products that claim to be team or player products but are not authentic. Counterfeit Sports Equipment products are items that are sold under brand names without the authority of the [...]
Book Piracy Market Value: $600 Million
Book piracy is the unauthorized copying and distribution of books that are protected by copyright.
US Book Publishers lost an estimated $600 million to book piracy in 2006.
Source: Association of American Publisher, “Publishers Welcome USTR’s Annual ” Special 301″ Report and Results of China Provincial Review,” April 30, 2007, (accessed: September 25, 2007).
