EU Auditors Say AI Is Helping Tobacco Smugglers Pick Their Next Target
Nearly one in 10 cigarettes sold in the European Union is illicit, and auditors say fragmented enforcement is letting crime groups profit.
- On Tuesday, the European Court reported that the European Union is failing to track illegal tobacco trade, which costs public budgets an estimated €13 billion annually.
- Organized crime has shifted production into the European Union to exploit uneven national legislation, with factories found in Belgium, Spain, Poland, and Romania.
- Nearly one in ten cigarettes sold in the European Union is illicit; newer products like Vapes account for about 13 per cent of market value and the illicit market reaches nearly 21,000 tonnes.
- ECA member Petri Sarvamaa stated the Commission must act to safeguard citizens' security; The Commission noted tobacco fraud remains "an ongoing and complex challenge for the EU."
- Criminal organizations are using Artificial intelligence to exploit Information-sharing gaps between Member States, yet The Commission remains unwilling to implement the recommended coordinated monitoring system.
32 Articles
32 Articles
EU auditors say AI is helping tobacco smugglers pick their next target
The European Court of Auditors has published two findings that sit awkwardly together. The EU has no reliable picture of the size or structure of its illicit tobacco market. The criminal networks running that market, according to the auditor who led the report, are using artificial intelligence to work out where to move next. Special […] This story continues at The Next Web
Criminal gangs use artificial intelligence to help them find locations in Europe where to build illegal cigarette factories, with lower chances of getting caught, an EU auditor warned Tuesday, reports Politico.
Criminal organisations benefit from the lack of cooperation between the EU Commission and the Member States and from gaps in existing legislation.
The Court of Auditors of the European Union has warned this Tuesday of the strategic relocation of much of the illegal production of tobacco on European Union soil...
About 10% of cigarettes smoked in the EU come either from an illegal factory or from smuggling.The efforts of the Member States to combat this scourge are now too "dispersed", according to the European Court of Auditors.
The European Court of Auditors warns of the mistakes and "insufficient efforts" still being made by the authorities to curb these actions.
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