World Anti-Counterfeiting Day: Focus on Fuel Integrity

Since 10 June 2025, SICPA has been publishing a series of articles dedicated to raise awareness of counterfeit products and illicit trade, and to share its expertise on how to prevent and protect against these threats. Each article explores a specific area that poses significant challenges, offering insights into effective solutions.

As we conclude the year, we turn our focus to a less well-known illicit trade threat: fuel. While less commonly associated with counterfeiting, fuel fraud represents one of the most profitable illicit markets. In this article, we see the critical issues governments face in combating fuel fraud and present advanced solutions to mark and trace fuel from refinery to end user. 

Fuel is essential to modern economies and remains yet one of the most targeted commodities for illicit trade. Each year, an estimated USD 133 billion¹ of fuel is stolen, adulterated, or diverted from legitimate markets, making petroleum the most smuggled natural resource worldwide. 

The consequences extend far beyond financial losses. Adulterated fuels can damage engines, increase harmful emissions, distort market dynamics, and erode public trust. Governments face a dual challenge: protecting tax revenues while ensuring citizens have access to reliable, high-quality fuel. Addressing this requires robust regulatory frameworks supported by advanced technologies capable of delivering full transparency and traceability across the supply chain. 

Fuel Tax loss: USD 133Bn ¹ 
Pharmaceutical Tax loss: USD 200 Bn ² 
Tobacco Tax loss: USD 40 – 50 Bn³ 

Smuggling, adulteration, and diversion of subsidised or in-transit fuel, undermine markets and drain public resources. In some regions, even premium aviation fuel is stolen or diluted, posing serious operational and safety risks. 

To tackle these threats, governments need robust monitoring systems that track fuel from refineries and import points all the way to the end user. Such systems not only reduce opportunities for fraud but also rebuild confidence in the integrity of national fuel markets. 

The benefits extend across institutions:  

• Fiscal authorities secure tax revenues through precise tracking, ensuring accurate taxation and effectively preventing tax evasion.
• Energy ministries gain the ability to guarantee fuel quality, availability and supply continuity, critical for consumers, businesses and essential infrastructure. 

SICPA has become a global reference for fuel integrity, protecting over 60 billion litres of petroleum products annually for governments. Its technologies combine forensic fuel marking, secure custody management and advanced data analytics to provide full end-to-end visibility across the supply chain. 
 

Invisible forensic markers embedded in fuel allow authorities to instantly verify authenticity and detect dilution. Key modules include: 

• Secure Custody Transfer (SCT): tracks fuel ownership and allocation from refineries/depots to gas stations. 

• Wet Stock Management (WSM): Tracks fuel inventory and flow across the supply chain, serving as an effective shortage-prevention tool, providing granular, nationwide visibility of available stocks. 

These solutions reduce opportunities for fraud, enforce compliance and restore market integrity. Governments can now manage distribution, subsidies, and taxation with precision, strengthening economic resilience and rebuilding public trust. 

Fiscal impact examples: 

• In the Republic of the Philippines, the Fuel Marking Programme currently marks around 20 billion litres⁴ of petroleum products annually. Since its launch in 2019, the programme has monitored significant volumes, and under the current contract, a total of 119 billion litres will be covered over five years. The contract’s end date has been extended until this volume is reached, which is forecasted for June 2026. 

Beyond revenue, integrity programmes ensure high-quality fuel for consumers. In Uganda, compliance with national standards now exceeds 99%⁵, nearly eliminating substandard fuels. This protects citizens and businesses and reinforces market confidence, as international manufacturers report costly failures in regions where substandard fuels prevail. 

SICPA’s mobile inspection units deliver on-site verification across the supply chain. Equipped with advanced analytical instruments, these vehicles can detect and quantify fuel markers in under five minutes, whether at depots, retail stations or in transit. 

Inspection data is transmitted to centralised platforms, generating actionable insights on consumption trends, risk hotspots, and potential fraud. This enables authorities to shift from reactive enforcement to proactive, data-driven management, targeting high-risk areas and optimising compliance measures. 

Mobile laboratories also reinforce quality assurance. Beyond detecting fraud, they can provide effective pre-screening of critical quality indicators, such as sulphur compounds, metals, and trace elements before reaching consumers, safeguarding engines, reducing emissions, and protecting industrial investments. 

Fuel integrity is not just than a technical concern, it is a strategic imperative. By combining forensic marking, mobile detection and comprehensive data management, SICPA empowers governments to safeguard revenues, ensure high-quality fuels and strengthen market confidence.  

When every litre is accounted for, states secure their economies, protect consumers and reinforce industrial and environmental standards. Transparent, compliant and traceable fuel markets drive integrity, and integrity powers progress, benefiting governments, businesses and citizens alike.