By ENACT

As COVID-19 dominates the world’s stage, nearly every aspect of society has been affected by the deadly pandemic. While the impact of the contagion on countries’ economies, social cohesion, health and security has been widely reported on, less is known about its influence on criminal dynamics. The pandemic has not only become a central component of the everyday lives of Africans, but has also revealed the important role the continent plays in the global economy – both licit and illicit. COVID-19 measures have posed a double burden on African countries by heavily challenging people’s economic livelihood and restricting the freedom of movement of Africans, while also challenging governments in how they balance the need to address the health crisis with the provision of services and security amid declining economies. In this context, organised crime in Africa has evolved and taken advantage of the confusion and frustration wrought by the pandemic; it has filled in the gaps left by state institutions, by both adapting its illicit activities in order to circumvent COVID restrictions and providing new sources of livelihoods and parallel services. Institutional responses to stop the spread of the virus have had a profound impact on movement, trade and business, including in black markets and shadow economies. In Africa, COVID-19 was slower to take effect than in other parts of the world, and even though the continent has had experience in handling other major viral epidemics, the health, economic and security systems of many countries on the continent have found themselves ill-equipped to face the particular challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. As legitimate businesses suffered extensive losses across the continent, people increasingly turned to the informal and illicit economies for alternative sources of livelihood. Meanwhile, those already vulnerable to exploitation become even more at risk due to the paucity of economic opportunities available to them and the isolating restrictions put in place in the interest of public health. While the closure of borders may have restricted illicit flows within and across countries in the short term, over the course of the pandemic, it has become clear that organised crime has found ways to adapt and bypass controls throughout Africa, with illicit activities continuing, often more covertly than ever before. As states diverted their attention and resources to curbing viral spread, new opportunities emerged for criminal groups to exploit gaps in service delivery and communities’ economic vulnerability, enabling them to expand their activities unchecked. For example, with limits on in-person interactions, illicit activities have increasingly shifted online, while cases of counterfeit, substandard and illegally diverted pharmaceuticals have been on the rise, marketed as ‘cures’ for COVID-19.

ENACT (Africa), 2021. 160p.

By Romi Sigsworth

Women play a range of roles in the grey economy on the fringes of organised criminal activities in East Africa. Using studies of illegal coltan mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo, sand trafficking in Kenya and wildlife crime in Uganda, this paper sets out the conundrum they face – the roles that give them agency and economic empowerment are those that law enforcement and social development interventions seek to dismantle. Can current responses be adapted to improve their lives?

EMACT (Africa), 22p.

By ENACT

In the last two decades the percentage of imprisoned women offenders is growing globally, at a faster rate than imprisoned male offenders. Such global increase raises the question as to whether the same can be observed on the African continent . Information suggests that transnational organized crime (TOC) affects African women and girls differently than African men and boys. It is crucial to learn how and if men and women behave differently in TOC in Africa in order to uncover the main drivers of these differences and adapt policing methodology accordingly. While gendered data continues to be insufficiently reported upon by law enforcement authorities in Africa, the assessment suggests that African law enforcement authorities are possibly under -investigating and under -estimating the involvement of African women in TOC. African law enforcement authorities likely continue to perceive them as victims or accomplices only. They are possibly rarely seen as the criminals themselves and less so as being the organizers, leaders, traffickers or recruiters. This gap in police investigations is indeed known to be exploited to the benefit of organized crime as women are more likely to go under the radar. The assessment draws attention to the common features of African female offenders based on available data to share insights and encourage police forces to reconsider their approach.

ENACT (Africa), 2021. 32p.

By ENACT

Across the globe, the proliferation of new armed groups (including rebels, militias, criminal groups and gangs) has made conflict prevention and resolution even more complex. Armed groups are diversifying their revenues, which are increasingly based on organized crime activities. Organized Crime Groups (OCGs) often benefit from the turmoil of armed conflicts and violence. They can engage in violence to protect their illicit business, undermining national economic development and security. Furthermore, OCGs can team up with armed groups to access and control natural resources, competing with the state to provide public goods or even protection to their community. Different situations of violent conflict affect countries in the Eastern African region. Crime dynamics that emerge from instability in one country of the region can spill over into a neighbouring country, posing a threat to regional peace and security. The emergence of hybrid criminal groups engaged in transnational organized crime and in armed conflict most likely represents a relevant dimension of contemporary conflict in Eastern Africa. Yet, the knowledge on the multiple ways in which OCGs prey, or even amplify, local conflicts for their own benefit remains limited. Organized violence for profit continues to affect Eastern Africa. Kidnapping for ransom, looting, threats and sexual gender-based violence are among the most reported incidents in the region. The driving factors for those crimes are sometimes difficult to discern and involve a combination of reasons such as economic gain, firearms sourcing (notably for cases of looting security forces), intention to control a community or territory. Illicit financial flows, and particularly, illicit taxation, allow OCGs and armed groups to generate revenue through commodity taxes, by imposing taxes on the community to move through certain areas or to run their business.

Lyon, France: Interpol and ENACT, 2022. 32p.

By The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime

The purpose of Digest of Organized Crime Cases is to illustrate good practices in dealing with organized crime cases and in doing so, to, promote the practical implementation of the Organized Crime Convention and its Protocols. The Digest presents a compilation of illustrative cases and related good practices in criminalization, investigations, prosecution and legal experiences in dealing with organized crime and its various forms and manifestations. By providing relevant policy-makers, criminal justice officials, and investigative police with practical perspectives and insights based on expert practitioners' experience, and associated good practices, it is hoped that the Digest could serve those involved in complicated investigations and prosecutions of organized crime cases on how best to address the many pitfalls and challenges in order to conduct an efficient investigation and prosecution. Moreover, the Digest will help contribute to identifying good practice and common standards related to the investigation and prosecution of organized crime cases, while improving judicial understanding and strengthening international cooperation in criminal matters. The target reader group will be policymakers, judicial officials, central authorities and judicial/investigative police. Three Meetings of experts have been held in the course of 2011-2012: the first meeting was held in Rome, Italy, from 23-26 May 2011, the second one took place in Cartagena, Colombia, from the 28 November to the 02 December 2011, and the last one was held in Palermo, Italy, from 11-14 June 2012. The meetings were held in English, French, and Spanish and gathered approximately 30-40 experts from different countries and regions (at least three per region) with expertise in different legal systems and in specific aspects related to transnational organized crime, to present and comment relevant organized crime cases.

Vienna: UNODC, 2012. 154p.

By The U.S. National Institute of Justice

The National Institute of Justice, as part of its effort to build an international research agenda that will help the United States better understand potential threats from transnational crime, supported this project to— ■ Determine high priority areas for research on Asian transnational organized crime. ■ Assess the impact of Asian transnational organized crime on the United States. ■ Identify relevant data and information sources in Asia. ■ Identify potential collaborative research partners and institutions in Asia. This report focuses on the first two project goals.

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, 2007. 40p.

By Virginia Comolli and Natasha Rose

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is Beijing’s flagship programme for expanding its international trade opportunities and promoting infrastructure development. The New Silk Road, as it is often referred to, now encompasses 138 countries, and its unprecedented reach attracts the attention of policymakers and businesses worldwide – and criminals alike. BRI-related projects bring (or will do so once completed) investments, services, employment opportunities and prosperity to countries across Asia, Africa and beyond. However, like all development projects, they are also likely to have unintended consequences – including corruption, criminal exploitation and infiltration. Specifically, increases in licit trade prompted by the building or expansion of road and railway networks, ports and special economic zones provide openings for illicit trade, which ever-entrepreneurial criminal networks are quick to exploit. Indeed, the main pathways and means of illicit trade are usually also the main pathways of licit trade. Failing to acknowledge that development and trade create vulnerabilities in contexts where governance and regulatory capacity is weak, crime levels are high and illicit markets are well established opens up the risk of systematic criminal exploitation of the BRI, either through boosting existing illicit routes or facilitating the emergence of new ones. In other words, these risks call for the need to ‘crimeproof’ development initiatives. The regions at the core of this study – South East Asia and central and East Africa – present a number of vulnerabilities pertaining to the quality of governance, the socioeconomic landscape, the security sphere and the environment. As such, they are already the target of criminal enterprises and are home to some of the largest narcotics, human trafficking and illicit environmental markets in the world. From the perspective of criminal actors, increased connectivity brought about by the BRI equates to easier access to source regions and consumer markets. Larger trade volumes also provide more opportunities to conceal illicit goods among cargoes and to avoid detection at borders, ports and airports. Evidence suggests that the maritime sector in these regions is particularly susceptible to criminal activities as a result of BRI-linked ports and route expansions. Yet the BRI’s reach is much further still, with supply chains extending all the way into Europe and BRI-related projects reaching Latin America and the Caribbean, which may form the focus of a future study.

Geneva: Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, 2021. 75p.

By Thomas Grisaffi

Bolivia is a drug production and trafficking center and yet it exhibits far less violence than other countries that form part of cocaine’s commodity chain across Latin America. With reference to a case study from the Chapare, a coca-growing and drug processing zone in central Bolivia, this article considers why this is the case. Building from the literature on embedded economies and the ‘subsistence ethic’ of peasant communities, it shows how the drug trade is part of a local moral order that prioritizes kinship, reciprocal relations and community well-being and in doing so restricts the possibilities for violence. In addition, the agricultural unions act as a parallel form of governance, providing a framework for enforcing illicit contracts and the peaceful resolution of disputes. It is argued that illicit crop and drug production can be understood as a form of autonomous grassroots development. This article draws on more than three years of ethnographic fieldwork carried out between 2005 and 2019.

Paper presented at the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) annual congress (virtual congress). 28th May 2021. 23p.

By Joseph F. O'Brien , Andris Kurins

Paul Castellano headed New York's immensely powerful Gambino crime family for more than ten years. On December 16, 1985, he was gunned down in a spectacular shooting on Manhattan's fashionable East Side. At the time of his death, Paul Castellano was under indictment. So were most of the major Mafia figures in New York. Why? Because in 1983 the FBI had hidden a microphone in the kitchen of Castellano's Staten Island mansion. The 600 hours of recordings led to eight criminal trials. Agents Joe O'Brien and Andris Kurins planted that mike. They listened to the voices. Now they bring you the most revealing look inside the Mafia ever ... in the Mafia's own words.

New York: Island Books, 1992. 382p.

Edited by Karen Bullock, Ronald V. Clarke and Nick Tilley

Situational crime prevention is the art and science of reducing opportunities for crime. Despite accumulating evidence of its value in reducing many different kinds of crime – such as burglary, fraud, robbery, car theft, child sexual abuse and even terrorism – little has previously been published about its role in reducing organised crimes. This collection of case studies, by a distinguished international group of researchers, fills this gap by documenting the application of a situational prevention approach to a variety of organised crimes. These include sex trafficking, cigarette and drug smuggling, timber theft, mortgage fraud, corruption of private professionals and public officials, and subversion of tendering procedures for construction projects. By moving the focus away from the nature of criminal organisations to the analysis of the crimes committed by these organisations, the book opens up a fresh agenda for policy and research. The book will be of interest to those tasked with tackling organised crime problems as well as those interested in understanding the ways that organised crime problems have manifested themselves globally and how law enforcement and other agencies might seek to tackle them in the future.

Cullompton, Devon, UKWillan Publishing,

By Federica Varese

Running a business in Russia is every bit as unsavory as you might imagine, according to Federico Varese's thoroughly researched look at that nation's organized (but not very organized) criminals. Even the lowliest shopkeeper faces shakedowns from drug addicts and teenage thugs, as well as bribe demands from tax collectors and police. In this chaotic climate, the protection racket thrives. Pay the right person, and not only will the shakedowns end - you might even gain a business partner and a fishing buddy. But the penalties for making the wrong move can be severe. One shopkeeper who refused to pay up was burned to death in his store. Varese offers an intricately detailed look at the realities of the Russian Mafia. His excellent reporting is undermined only by his frequent academic writing style.

Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2001. 305p.

By Federico Varese

We see mafias as vast, powerful organizations, harvesting billions of dollars across the globe and wrapping their tentacles around everything from governance to finance. But is this the truth? Traveling from mafia initiation ceremonies in far-flung Russian cities to elite gambling clubs in downtown Macau, Federico Varese sets off in search of answers. Using wiretapped conversations, interviews, and previously unpublished police records, he builds up a picture of the real men and women caught up in mafia life, showing their loves and fears, ambitions and disappointments, as well as their crimes. Mafia Life takes us into the real world of organized crime, where henchmen worry about bad managers and have high blood pressure, assassinations are bungled as often as they come off, and increasing pressure from law enforcement means that a life of crime is no longer lived in the lap of luxury. As our world changes, so must mafias. Globalization, migration, and technology are disrupting their traditions and threatening their revenue streams, and the Mafiosi must evolve or die. Mafia Life is an intense and totally compelling look at these organizations and the daily life of their members, as they get to grips with the modern world.

New York; London: Oxford University Press, 2018. 288p.

Edited by Jude McCulloch and Sharon Pickering

Considers the growing importance of the border as a prime site for criminal justice activity and explores the impact of border policing on human rights and global justice. It covers a range of subjects from e-trafficking, child soldiers, the 'global war on terror' in Africa and police activities that generate crime.

Houndmills, Basingstoke. UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. 214p.

By Ulrik Boesen

The crafting of tax policy can never be divorced from an understanding of the law of unintended consequences, but it is too often disregarded or misunderstood in political debate, and sometimes policies, however well-intentioned, have unintended consequences that outweigh their benefits. One notable example of this is the ever increasing tax rates on tobacco products. A consequence of high state cigarette excise tax rates has been increased smuggling as people procure discounted packs from low-tax states and sell them in high-tax states. Growing cigarette tax differentials have made cigarette smuggling both a national problem and, in some cases, a lucrative criminal enterprise. Each year, scholars at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a Michigan think tank, use a statistical analysis of available data to estimate smuggling rates for each state.1 Their most recent report uses 2019 data and finds that smuggling rates generally rise in states after they adopt cigarette tax increases. Smuggling rates have dropped in some states, often where neighboring states have higher cigarette tax rates. T

Washington, DC: Tax Foundation, 2021. 8p.

Ulrik Boesen

The crafting of tax policy can never be divorced from an understanding of the law of unintended consequences, but it is too often disregarded or misunderstood in political debate, and sometimes policies, however well-intentioned, have unintended consequences that outweigh their benefits.

One notable consequence of high state cigarette excise tax rates has been increased smuggling as people procure discounted packs from low-tax states and sell them in high-tax states. Growing cigarette tax differentials have made cigarette smuggling both a national problem and, in some cases, a lucrative criminal enterprise.

Each year, scholars at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a Michigan think tank, use a statistical analysis of available data to estimate smuggling rates for each state.[1] Their most recent report uses 2018 data and finds that smuggling rates generally rise in states after they adopt cigarette tax increases. Smuggling rates have dropped in some states, often where neighboring states have higher cigarette tax rates.

Washington, DC: Tax Foundation, 2020. 7p.

By Hana Ross

The tobacco market, like many other markets, is subject to illegal activities, primarily related to tax evasion and counterfeiting of legal products. Since a sizable illicit tobacco market can both deprive governments of much needed revenue and undermine the effectiveness of tobacco control efforts, governments dealing with the issue have developed a set of strategies and measures for curbing tobacco tax avoidance and evasion. Many of these measures are called for in the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, the first and, to date, only protocol to the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) (WHO 2012). This paper provides a brief review of the key measures, including the rationale for each, their strengths and weaknesses in addressing particular aspect of illicit tobacco trade, and the best way to implement them.

Prepared for the Economics of Tobacco Control Project¸ School of Economics, University of Cape Town and Tobacconomics, Health Policy Center, Institute for Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2015. 28p.

Edited by Peter Reuter and Malay Majmundar

Tobacco use has declined because of measures such as high taxes on tobacco products and bans on advertising, but worldwide there are still more than one billion people who regularly use tobacco, including many who purchase products illicitly. By contrast to many other commodities, taxes comprise a substantial portion of the retail price of cigarettes in the United States and most other nations. Large tax differentials between jurisdictions increase incentives for participation in existing illicit tobacco markets. In the United States, the illicit tobacco market consists mostly of bootlegging from low-tax states to high-tax states and is less affected by large-scale smuggling or illegal production as in other countries. In the future, non-price regulation of cigarettes - such as product design, formulation, and packaging - could in principle, contribute to the development of new types of illicit tobacco markets.

Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2015.

By KPMG

Imperial Tobacco Australia Limited (ITA) and Philip Morris Limited (PML) have commissioned KPMG UK to estimate the size of the consumption of illicit tobacco in Australia. Reports are produced annually. The purpose of this report is: 1. To provide an overview of the nature and dynamics of the legal and illicit tobacco markets in Australia, and 2. To provide an independent estimate of the size of the illicit tobacco market in Australia. This full year 2018 report measures the consumption of illicit tobacco in Australia. It reports on events occurring during the twelve month period from January 2018 through December 2018. This 2018 report is produced using a methodology in line with previous KPMG ‘Illicit Tobacco in Australia’ reports.

London: KPMG, 2019. 104p.

By KPMG

This report of key findings (the ‘Report’) has been prepared by KPMG LLP. The Report was commissioned by PMPSA (Philip Morris Products SA), described in this Important Notice and in this Report as the ‘beneficiary’, on the basis set out in a private contract agreed between the beneficiary and KPMG LLP dated 12 January 2022. Information sources, the scope of our work, and scope and source limitations are set out in the footnotes and methodology contained within this Report. The scope of our work, information sources used, and any scope and source limitations were fixed by agreement with the beneficiary. We have satisfied ourselves, where possible, that the information presented in this Report is consistent with the information sources used, but we have not sought to establish the reliability of the information sources by reference to other evidence. We relied upon and assumed without independent verification, the accuracy and completeness of information available from public and third‐ party sources. This Report has not been designed to benefit any specific organisation other than the beneficiary. In preparing this Report we have not taken into account the interests, needs, or circumstances of any specific organisation, other than the beneficiary.

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  This Report is not suitable to be relied on by any party (other than the beneficiary) wishing to acquire rights or assert any claims against KPMG LLP for any purpose or in any context. As such, any person or entity (other than the beneficiary) who reads this Report and chooses to rely on it (or any part of it) will do so at their own risk. To the fullest extent permitted by law, KPMG LLP does not assume any responsibility and will not accept any liability in respect of this Report other than to the beneficiary. In particular, and without limiting the general statement above, although we have prepared this Report in agreement with the beneficiary, this Report has not been prepared for the benefit of any other manufacturer of tobacco products nor for any other person or entity who might have an interest in the matters discussed in this Report, including for example those who work in or monitor the tobacco or public health sectors or those who provide goods or services to those who operate in those sectors.

London: KPMG, 2022. 231p.

Edited by Walter Kegö & Alexandru Molcean

A new criminal landscape is emerging in Europe. A key factor behind the dramatically increasing crime levels is Russian organized crime. While these groups are often comprised of Russians, they are not based solely on ethnicity, often members are also from former Soviet republics. According to Europol, these groups are among the most dangerous criminal groups operating in Europe today. They are involved in every type of illegal activity and excel in exploiting new opportunities in the economic and financial sectors. They make exorbitant amounts of money from illegal activities such as money laundering, human and drug trafficking, smuggling and extortion. Their activities have grown and spread to other countries to such an extent that they pose a serious problem affecting all EU member states. This report documents recent trends.

Stockholm: Institute for Security and Development Policy, 2012. 102p.