Counterfeit Medicines: Strategies to Deal with a Commercial Crime

In the wake of the 1988 United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, attention has come to be focused on money laundering. Several developed, and some developing, countries now have in place legislative and other control measures designed to enable information to be collected and to facilitate investigations with regard to investments and transfer of funds above a certain monetary limit; to confiscate assets purchased with the proceeds from the sale of controlled drugs; and, to impose stringent jail and other sentences on persons contravening the applicable drug or banking laws.