Impacting the illegal trade
Philip Morris International said yesterday that it had received 157 expressions of interest in its second funding round for PMI IMPACT, its global initiative to support third party projects dedicated to fighting illegal trade and related crimes.
In a note posted on its website, it said the applications had come from a range of government agencies, public universities, private companies, and not-for-profit organizations across 56 countries of Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the EU, and the US.
“The Expert Council is encouraged by the substantial number of responses to our invitation for expressions of interest in combatting illegal trade in all its forms,” said Navi Pillay, member of the PMI IMPACT Expert Council.
“It is gratifying to receive such sustained support for the initiative taken by PMI IMPACT to get all relevant stakeholders to work together.
“We will be reviewing the applications and will make a selection of the successful candidates shortly.”
The second funding round of PMI IMPACT focuses on projects aimed at tackling converging forms of illegal trade such as the smuggling and counterfeiting of goods, human trafficking, and the trade in drugs, arms, and wildlife.
The second round is due to examine also the links between the illegal trade and related crimes, including corruption and money laundering, and organized criminal networks.
“We would like to thank all applicants for their proposals,” said Alvise Giustiniani, PMI’s vice president illicit trade strategies and prevention.
“Our hope is that PMI IMPACT will be a global enabler for innovative projects against illegal trade, and we are encouraged to see this initiative materialize and evolve year after year.”
‘Following the review of the expressions of interest, selected applicants will be invited to submit their full project proposals in early 2018 for further evaluation and final selection by the PMI IMPACT Expert Council, a body of external independent experts in the fields of law, anti-corruption, human rights, and law enforcement,’ PMI’s note said.
‘PMI has pledged US$100 million for three funding rounds of PMI IMPACT. 32 projects were selected for funding in the initiative’s first round, with allocated grants of approximately US$28 million.’