AACS - Alliance Against Counterfeit Spirits

The Alliance Against Counterfeit Spirits (“AACS”) represents the world’s major international spirits producing companies. AACS has been in operation since the early 1990s with one single purpose - to combat the counterfeiting of distilled spirits brands.

The actions of counterfeiters pose a direct health risk to consumers, erode legitimate tax revenues and undermine consumer trust in well established brands. Bribery associated with counterfeiting weakens the effectiveness of public institutions at the expense of society at large.

We are active in more than 20 countries and protect the brands of some of the largest spirits businesses in the world, including:

COVID-19

AACS and its members are concerned that the current restrictions to legitimate supply chains and routes to market in force around the globe have given counterfeiters and illicit traders an unprecedented opportunity to increase their supply of dangerous and substandard goods.

In response to this heightened threat AACS has developed a global market tracking database to provide members and stakeholders with live analysis of all regulatory measures restraining legitimate spirits distribution (from the closure of the on-trade and the virtual elimination of duty free to the complete ban of spirits trading that is deemed “non essential”).

We have also increased our active monitoring of counterfeiting activity around the globe to detect signs of a possible spike in spirits illicit trade (not only on counterfeits but also more broadly on smuggling and illicit parallel). For this we leverage the network of AACS service providers and partner with key international LEA authorities including Interpol and OLAF (the European anti-fraud branch).

We will use the insights gained from these tools to stay ahead of the counterfeiters in the markets where it matters most by taking the following actions:

increase our investigation efforts against the manufacturers of counterfeit spirits and their criminal associates
lobby Governments to prioritize the response to fraud among COVID-19 emergency measures, allocate resources to blocking distribution of fakes, warn consumers about the risks of fake and fraudulent products, especially online sales,
encourage law enforcement to clamp down on violators and establish a coordinated national strategy to share intelligence, best practices and cooperate on cross-border investigations
work with internet eCommerce platforms to amplify policing and takedown of online sales of counterfeit products.

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COMBATING THE COUNTERFEITING OF DISTILLED SPIRITS WHEREVER IT OCCURS