Waiting for the judge after a mafia strike in a Sicilian village.
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The
weight of organized crime
These highlights
are extracted from a recently released U.S. Government report.
Money laundering: According to a recent estimate, worldwide money-laundering
activity is roughly $1 trillion per year, of which $300-500 billion represents laundering
related to drug trafficking. A former managing director of the International Monetary
Fund has estimated worldwide money laundering at 2 to 5% of the world’s GNP, equivalent
to a total ranging from $800 billion to $2 trillion.
Drugs: in 1999, Americans spent $63 billion on illegal drugs.
Trafficking of humans: In 1997, some 45,000 to 50,000 women and children were
trafficked to the U.S., representing 6 to 7% the world total. An estimated 225,000
women and children from Southeast Asia were trafficked across international borders
in 1997, accounting for nearly one-third of the world total. The UN estimates that
migrant smuggling worldwide involves 4 million people and $7 billion annually.
Natural resources: The stealing and illicit trade of natural resources generates
an annual $5 to $8 billion for criminal organizations.
Nearly 75% of the world’s rough diamonds, valued at about $5.2 billion on the open
market, are mined in Africa. Of the total 1998 diamond production in Africa, 13%
was mined informally, mostly by insurgent groups.
Russian crime groups illegally extract and sell 300 metric tons of amber worth an
estimated $1 billion each year, according to press reports.
Cars: The annual global contraband trade in stolen vehicles is estimated at
$10-15 billion.
Piracy: According to U.S. Coast Guard data, financial losses incurred as a
result of high-seas piracy are estimated at about $450 million per year.
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The
greatest of all evils is a weak government.
Benjamin
Disraeli, former British prime minister (1804-1881)
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Organized
crime can take root in all kinds of states but finds a ripe breeding ground in crisis-ridden
countries, says Alex Schmid from the United Nations’ Terrorism Prevention Branch
When the state weakens,
doesn’t organized crime often takes its place?
The emergence of organized crime is symptomatic of a malaise in all
of society, which is not necessarily an expression of the state’s weakness. There
are strong states in weak societies and vice versa. The words “state,” “society,”
“strong” and “weak” can be used in any combination.
Most countries have beautiful constitutions, but in themselves they do not guarantee
the rule of law, which is instead based on a vibrant civil society, a strong and
independent press, and a real separation of powers between the executive, legislative
and judicial branches of government. And above all, you need a culture of lawfulness
to prevent the emergence of organized crime. A strong state, as such, is completely
compatible with the existence of criminal organizations. Indeed, the state is sometimes
the instrument of criminal systems.
Would you say that the situation is ripe for organized crime when the social contract
linking society to the state is disrupted?
Yes. A case in point is what happens after a war. Look at Kosovo today: the United
Nations’ presence there has not proved sufficient to control organized crime. Generally
speaking, when the relationship between the state and society deteriorates, all kinds
of shadow or parallel societies, which lie at least partly outside the scope of the
law, increase their influence. These shadow societies can assume a political expression,
for example, as liberation movements; a religious expression, as millenarian sects;
or a criminal form, as in the mafia or triads. There are currently dozens of countries
in the midst of a transition period which will hopefully lead to stronger democracies.
But during this stage, they are susceptible to higher levels of organized crime.
They are nevertheless better off than countries ruled by military “kleptocracies.”
How does organized crime establish its influence?
To start with, the use of similar methods enables organized crime to co-exist
with the state. Some secret services use the same clandestine practices as criminal
organizations, such as safe houses, corruption, blackmail and wet jobs [murder].
Resistance movements may also do the same in wartime. Even when they are victorious,
not everybody gains power. Some less fortunate members turn to crime. We know of
many cases where organized crime and entire sectors of the state maintain secret
partnerships that benefit each other. In return for at least a modest level of impunity,
organized crime provides a supply of voters and funds election campaigns. Often a
regime has to collapse before the full measure of white collar or khaki crime becomes
apparent. An example is Nigeria. Under the late dictator Sani Abacha, abuse of public
office became a multi-billion dollar business.
Are white-collar criminals a serious threat?
They come from the highest echelons of the state and know how to maintain a semblance
of legitimacy while manipulating laws and institutions. Organized crime rings cannot
do that. Old apparatchiks and new robber barons have plundered on a grand scale many
states created in the aftermath of the Soviet Union’s collapse. Secret service agents
have used their know-how to set up crime networks. Today, the Russian mafia is reportedly
active in over 50 countries.
Organized crime’s grip on society often seems irreversible. Is your cause a hopeless
one?
No. There is a very wide variety of examples. Some criminal organizations rise
and fall, others keep on going for generations. Mafias—namely secret societies with
a code of silence and hierarchical command structure—are just one face of organized
crime. Today there are much more amorphous networks formed on a project basis which
change countries and members with ease. Criminal groups also arise in immigrant communities,
where people are struggling for survival. Depending on the situation, the second
generation children either become law-abiding citizens or take over the criminal
business of their fathers. Sometimes new groups eliminate their predecessors. In
Western Europe, the Albanian mafia has made considerable inroads on the Turkish mafia’s
control of heroin distribution from the Balkans.
It is often easier for the police to combat foreign organized crime groups. When
the police is infiltrated, and corrupt elements start eliminating “good cops,” the
fight becomes more difficult. Then the priority is to clean up the police either
by creating a new police corps or by resorting to the intelligence service.
Is democracy an effective weapon against organized crime?
It is wrong to assume that organized crime does not exist in democratic countries.
Open societies offer excellent opportunities for mafia groups. Democracies must therefore
wipe out police corruption, set up effective intelligence services and win broad
public support for their fight against crime. In addition, measures such as reducing
the size of the black market, controlling immigration in a fair and liberal way and
cutting unemployment can all help. Elected officials and senior civil servants must
be made accountable, while corruption and money laundering must be fought vigorously.
If those who hold power in the state set a good example of integrity and demonstrate
genuine care for the well being of people, it is possible to fight organized crime
effectively. Present-day Palermo is an example of how the tide can be turned even
in the heart of what was traditional mafia territory.
Has the reduction of government intervention in the economy created a breeding ground
for organized crime?
Privatizations and deregulation offer organized crime great possibilities. The
deregulation of international financial markets since the 1970s have made money-laundering
possible on a global scale. In many countries, private security companies have more
personnel than the police force, without having the authority and legal basis of
the latter. Given that private security firms in some countries have a well deserved
bad reputation, this is an alarming trend.
Open societies with open borders are vulnerable to transnational criminal activities.
Modern criminals can use information technology to plan theft or fraud in one place,
before syphoning off the profits into off-shore bank accounts at the other end of
the world.
But the international community is trying to meet the challenge. In December 2000,
124 countries met in Palermo to sign the new Convention against Transnational Organized
Crime, a powerful instrument for international law enforcement cooperation. Other
instruments of this kind are needed to combat cyber-crime, for which the European
Union is already working on a regional convention. A convention against corruption
is under consideration.
The police and justice systems must harmonize their responses to organized transnational
crime and increase their effectiveness. States and societies must acquire the means
to fight it. And the United Nations must serve as a forum to co-ordinate their efforts. |
