Illegal trade, smuggling and forgery of luxury goods Essay

Illegal trade, smuggling and forgery of luxury goods - Essay Example There have been increases in smuggling activities, which have been aided by advances in technology and the emergence of new economies like China. Forgery of luxury has also been on the increase due to increased demand for these items making it a lucrative venture for many individuals. This paper seeks to discuss illegal trade, smuggling and forgery of luxury goods in the world. Forgery is term used to describe the imitation of and adaptation of items, objects and even identity of persons in an effort to pass them as the originals. The practice of producing forgeries is referred to as forging, and the forging of money or currencies is referred to as counterfeiting. Documents are also forged as when bank checks are forged or important personal documents like birth and death certificates, passports, drivers’ licenses and other important documentation. The forgery of art is another lucrative practice that sees the imitation of master paintings by Picasso, Da Vinci and Van Gogh. Ar t forgery is a thriving industry that involves the creation and sale of art works that are falsely credited to famous artists like Da Vinci and Van Gogh instead of their actual painters or creators (Keats 112). The increased demand for works of art by famous creators like Benini and Da Vinci makes forgery of these works of art a lucrative business. The value of forged art is determined by the name of the purported creator or artist (Keats 73). The forging of the Picasso painting by my second cousin involved a careful process that was characterized by getting the right paints and other materials like the painting medium. He chose the right scene or object in a painting to paint in order to capture all the elements that are identifiable with the original or master’s aspects (Keats 76). Forging masters requires that the imitations resemble the originals, which are usually aged and have the telltale signs of age. These signs include cracks filled up with dirt and faded colors. To age the painting in order to make it resemble the original, my cousin applied bleach to the back of the painting to make it feel old and brittle (Keats 96). The frame and the front of the painting was aged using a concoction of brown paint and thinner to age the wood frame, while the front was aged by a 70/30 blend of brown paint and thinner. Every painting by a master possesses an identifying signature or marker that confirms the identity of the true creator or artist. My cousin who is skilled enough in both of these processes did this or they can be done another individual who is skilled in the art of forging signatures and other identifying marks. I was able to easily forge ownership documentation for the painting, and acquire an authentication certificate showing that my fake Picasso was indeed an original. I was able to achieve this fete by bribing corrupt officials in the department of arts at a renowned local museum. The convention on the international trade in endangered sp ecies (CITES) is an international agreement between nations and states to ban the trade in animal and plant specimens that endangers their survival (Becker & Wehinger 28). Through CITES initiative and related organizations, a number of policies have been formulated and implemented to limit or completely ban the use, sale and trade of various goods associated with negative externalities