Egypt’s iconic Cleopatra cigarettes are being undercut by a Montenegrin state-owned factory
Egypt’s iconic homegrown brand of cigarettes, Cleopatra, is being undercut by a state-owned factory in Montenegro manufacturing counterfeits, according to an investigation by BalkanInsight and Arab Reporters for Investment Journalism. (There is some irony in this: Cleopatra was established in 1961 at the request of then-president Gamal Abdel Nasser, who wanted a local version of his preferred American Kents.) Montenegro ignored diplomatic overtures and warnings from Egypt, Britain, and the EU itself, who suspected that the fakes were being smuggled across the Mediterranean to Libya and transported from there to Egypt.
This was no small operation. Officially, the Montenegrin factory was contracted by an offshore company called Liberty to produce 400 mn packs, or about eight bn individual cigarettes, between 2010 and 2016. British customs officials estimated that number at 100 mn cigarettes per month. There is an ongoing EU investigation into the movement of ‘cheap white’ cigarettes through Montenegro. The estimated number of counterfeit cigarettes on the Egyptian market skyrocketed to 20% in 2012 from less than 1% in 2010.
Though Liberty claims they have a trademark registration for Cleopatra, the Eastern Company, which owns Cleopatra brand cigarettes, said it did not license the brand to Liberty. Even if Liberty had a trademark for the Montenegrin factory, it would only be valid in Montenegro. That same factory also produced smaller quantities of Tunisian Mars 20, Algerian Rym and Libyan Riyadi. Registered in the Emirate of Ras Al Kheima, Liberty is owned and operated Greek businessmen with connections deep in the Balkans