AllMovie

Though seldom given adequate attention in the press, the global network of "fakes" - counterfeit mock-ups of everything from prescription drugs to watches to handbags - continues to exert a direr impact on transnational economies than almost any other force. Such is the thesis of this muckraking National Geographic documentary, loosely adapted from the nonfiction exposé volume Illicit by Dr. Moisés Naím. The program journeys inside the web of illicit activity and provides hardcore evidence supporting the assertion that such counterfeits regularly and systematically contribute to governmental instability, money laundering, corruption and a host of other ills.