Subscribe COVID-19 exploitation: Alcohol in India tops 2020 list of most-counterfeited product cases as criminals cash-in on crisis By Pearly Neo Alcohol has emerged as the sector with the largest number of counterfeit cases in India in 2020, with experts attributing this to a lack of enforcement as well as high profits available for counterfeiters during the COVID-19 crisis. According to The State of Counterfeiting in India – 2021 report published by the Authentication Solution Providers’ Association (ASPA), overall counterfeiting incidents in India rose by 17% year-on-year. Leading the pack this year was alcohol counterfeits (covering adulteration, fraud, trademark infringement and any other form of attempts to copy a product), which topped the list of counterfeit cases that took place in India across 2020 with 138 cases reported in the 12 months from January to December, a 34% increase year-on-year from 103 cases reported in 2019.