Jack Otto
Mr Jack Otto has a long experience in the field of customs and customs investigations and holds a university degree in international law. He worked for 20 years for Dutch customs and the Dutch customs investigation service (FIOD). Since 18 years, Jack works now as an investigator for the European Anti-Fraud Office, OLAF.
He worked in several fields of customs fraud and since 6 years, he is specialised in combatting organised crime in the IPR sector. Jack has conducted many IPR investigations and is now a specialist in the investigations concerning counterfeit wines and spirits. His contributions on cases on IPR related to counterfeit rum, vodka and wine were mentioned in the OLAF report of 2022. These investigations were successful as a result of excellent cooperation between the competent authorities and the right-holders.
Over the last years, OLAF worked intensely on cases targeting counterfeit and substandard wine, sparkling wine, whisky and vodka. The exchange of intelligence and actions taken by OLAF in coordination with national authorities from the EU Member States and third countries led to many positive results, including the following:
- 421 000 bottles of counterfeit wine of several brands seized in the EU and Moldova
- 339 696 bottles of counterfeit rum seized in the EU and Honduras (estimated value of €4.5 million)
- one illegal rum factory dismantled in Honduras
- 576 litres of counterfeit Prosecco seized in the EU