The globalization process is accompanied by the rapid development of international organized crime. The globalization process is accompanied by the rapid development of international organized crime.
The confrontation between the authorities and organized crime has been going on for more than one hundred years. The Encyclopedia Of International Organized Crime notes that such groups existed even during the Roman Empire and even then presented a big problem for the state, since they tried to control certain areas of the economy. Michael Woodiwiss, author of Organized Crime and American Power: A History, provides evidence that organized crime has always operated across national boundaries. Already in the 1930s, Italian mafiosi traveled to Japan and China for drugs, Japanese yakuza operated in the United States, and members of American gangs fled from justice in China and Europe.
However, according to many experts, now the criminal world has an opportunity to win this war. The process of globalization, which has seriously changed the world, has played into the hands of criminals most of all. Transparency of borders, simplified exchange of information, unprecedented growth in international trade and investment have snatched from the hands of the world's governments a number of levers that previously made it possible to successfully resist crime.
The UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention concluded in 2006: “International organized crime groups often benefit most from the globalization process. Legitimate businesses still face laws and regulations at home and abroad in this process. And transnational crime syndicates and networks, through corruption, blackmail and threats, are able to fully exploit the advantages of open markets and open societies in democratic countries. The main working principle of transnational criminal gangs is to get out of the control of law enforcement agencies. Foreign jurisdictions become territories safe for criminal activity, and borders serve as a kind of fence for international criminals to protect themselves from the law."
In addition, it was noted that criminal groups as such have changed. Traditionally, it was a relatively small group of people related to each other on the basis of common origin, friendship, etc., which guaranteed mutual understanding and trust in the ranks of the group. Now more and more law enforcement agencies identify groups consisting of an insignificant number of professional criminals who compensate for the small number by attracting "contractors" to perform any tasks - among the "contractors" can be like street hooligans who are hired to "punish" anyone, as well as professionals in the field of law, business, technology, security, etc. Quite often, modern international criminal gangs are compared to raiders who legally or semi-legally seize some enterprises or assets.
In any case, international crime poses a real threat to the financial systems of both individual states and the whole world. The logic of the researchers who adhere to this opinion is quite simple. Criminals are laundering billions of dollars, which leads to the fact that colossal amounts do not fall into state budgets. This, in turn, leads to the fact that the size of the public debt grows. To protect themselves from criminals, financial institutions are forced to spend significant funds (including paying compensation to gangster syndicates that provide their "protection") - these costs can eat up to 30% of profits. As a result, financial systems cannot develop normally, which leads to problems for the entire economy.
Likewise, criminals influence politics. Italian and Japanese criminal groups were probably the first to invest money laundered and use the businesses they control to support their people in government. In the United States, the mafia has traditionally held very tight control over powerful trade unions. Many South American drug cartels sponsor "their" politicians and even terrorist structures to put pressure on the authorities and protect their businesses.
Economist Rajiv Naylor \ R. T. Naylor, author of Wages of Crime: Black Markets, Illegal Finance, and the Underworld Economy, argues that international organized crime has "globalized" its activities for the same reasons as and law-abiding multinational corporations.
Corporations open their branches all over the world to make money using local resources - and so do criminal groups. Any international enterprise, both legal and illegal, also establish divisions around the world to meet their needs for the production and distribution of goods and services.
According to Naylor, the growth of illegal transnational activity was facilitated by technological advances: the rapid development of aviation, telecommunications and international trade. Criminal groups took advantage of reduced government regulation and weakened border controls. Transnational criminal groups are free to exploit loopholes in state legal systems to expand their activities. They settle in countries from where they cannot be extradited, set up bases in countries with ineffective law enforcement systems, and launder money in countries where bank secrecy is strictly observed or there is no effective control over financial institutions.
Gary Weiss, in Born to Steal: When the Mafia Hit Wall Street, cites one of countless stories illustrating how organized crime takes control of legitimate businesses.
The hero of this book, almost in the blink of an eye, turned from a gas station manager to a Wall Street broker. He actively scammed, in particular, by selling deliberately overvalued shares to investors. One of the "families" of the Italian mafia became aware of his tricks, which demanded from the broker to pay for silence - not only money was accepted as payment, but also help in gaining control over various firms.
