Big Tobacco Smuggling
Exposed: How billions of cigarettes end up on black markets
Major tobacco multinationals implicated in cigarette smuggling, tax evasion, documents show.
Big Tobacco Smuggling
Down-and-out in developed nations, Big Tobacco is refocusing its lobbying on emerging markets.
In this investigation
CIGARETTE SMUGGLING NETWORK
Global reach of tobacco company’s involvement in cigarette smuggling exposed in company papers
In its search to maintain and enlarge cigarette markets and corporate revenue, British American Tobacco exploited a sophisticated network of smuggling routes throughout Asia.
By ICIJ | February 2, 2000
Big Tobacco Smuggling
The multi-million dollar trade route
One of British American Tobacco's exclusive distributors was smuggling at least $12m worth of cigarettes a month into Latin America from Aruba in 1998.
By Duncan Campbell | August 22, 2001
BAT finds a partner in Asia’s most notorious criminal organization
Big Tobacco Smuggling
The U.S. rises as a transit point for contraband cigarettes
Big Tobacco Smuggling
Global illicit cigarette trade: What’s next?
Big Tobacco Smuggling
Cyprus: Big Tobacco’s favorite smuggling hub into the UK
Africa
Africa: Disguising BAT’s involvement in cigarette smuggling
Big Tobacco Smuggling
Philip Morris’ Mafia connections
Big Tobacco Smuggling
In Latin America, Big Tobacco partners with money launderers, smugglers
Big Tobacco Smuggling
Canada’s cigarette smuggling corridor
Big Tobacco Smuggling
Tobacco companies linked to criminal organizations in lucrative cigarette smuggling
Big Tobacco Smuggling
Tobacco firms used suspected drug traffickers, EU lawsuit claims
Big Tobacco Smuggling
U.K. considering formal investigation into cigarette smuggling
Big Tobacco Smuggling
Philip Morris accused of smuggling, money-laundering conspiracy in racketeering lawsuit
Key findings
1
During 2000 and 2001, a team of reporters from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists broke a series of landmark stories exposing how leading tobacco companies worked with criminal networks to smuggle cigarettes around the world.
2
Relying on interviews with insiders and thousands of internal industry documents, the unique team - based in six countries - pieced together how smuggling played a key role in big tobacco's strategy to boost sales and increase market share.
3
Those revelations, and others that followed, helped prompt lawsuits and government inquiries, and led to promises of a global crackdown on the illegal trade in tobacco.
