An Industry of Crime: Foreign businesses and illicit practices in the Pacific

By Virginia Comolli

Following the opening policy brief, a research report zooms in on the private sector. Foreign companies and entrepreneurs from different sectors and backgrounds have deepened their involvement in the islands. Legitimate business activities are often conducted in parallel with illicit ones, which in some cases amount to the bulk of revenues generated. These businesses, many of which are of Asian origin, have been able to exploit favourable tax regimes, limited monitoring and enforcement capabilities and, in certain cases, corrupt local partners and enablers, to increase their profits through illicit means. Diplomatic relations between their countries of origin and the Pacific countries in which they operate, can grant a high level of political access to these businesses and result in preferential treatment.
The study details four broad categories into which private sector criminal actors in the Pacific can be grouped:

• Environmental sector operators (fishing, logging and mining)
• The embedded diaspora
• Absentee residents
• Schemers and scammers

Geneva: Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. 2024. 29p.