Corruption Perceptions and the Importance of Corruption to the Organisation of Serious Crimes

1. Corruption Perceptions and the Importance of Corruption to the Organisation of Serious Crimes Michael Levi, PhD, DSc (Econ)Professor of CriminologyCardiff School of Social SciencesCardiff University, Wales, UKLevi@Cardiff.ac.uk European Parliament 2012

2. Perceptions of corruption and organised crime? • Grass eaters and meat eaters • Corruption as a technique of unfair influence on legal and illegal activities • But appeals to networks/people of influence seen as skilful • UN Transnational Organised Crime Convention 2000 and EU 2008 Convention • More than two bad people doing bad things • People moving around the world or staying in place exploiting modern technology • People engaged in ‘trafficking’ drugs or people for gain • Ruthless people who buy their way out of enforcement • But people don’t see IP theft and cheap smuggled commodities as really harmful – not seen as ‘organised crime’ but as providing a service

3. Highly structured, cohesive mafia-type organisations are in decline... Twenty first century organised criminal groups operate differently*... • Looser, flatter networks • Collaborate as necessary for specific projects Clear structure Defined roles Hierarchical

4. The Business of Crime • Forget the crude binary organised/unorganised • The core objectives of criminals are • Money • Excitement • The key constraints to profit are • Ambition and self-confidence • Finance capital • Labour resources and technical skills • need for caution and/or secrecy in approaching strangers and in dealing with existing ‘friends’ • Predatory acts by other criminals • Enforcement interventions (e.g. asset forfeiture/prison) • All these vary by type of crime and offender settings, and are assisted by corruption of ‘enablers’ and enforcement agencies • Tighter AML controls may make corruption more necessary • Corrupt relationships may eliminate business rivals by arrest • Acorrupt regime may broaden its rent-seeking by offering a criminogenic environment to fraudsters, traffickers, etc.

6. Nature of illegal markets • Market for laundering offences • Supply and demand side • Market for corruption • Law and rule-making • Regulatory/law enforcement interventions • Procurement of goods and services, especially where political power is also concentrated • Do we label this as ‘organised crime’ if not connected to drugs trafficking, etc.? It fits legally

7. Special Regional Problems • Tradition of clandestine economy • Assisted internal warfare in past • Some key actors still available • Difficult to monitor and act against in weaker states • Well developed Informal funds transfers • Difficulties of action against major local elites • permission to trade in exchange for cooperation

8. Relationship Between Corruption, Money-Laundering and Organised Crime • Can we have long-term organized crime without serious corruption? • Difficult to have long-term criminal service business without corruption/intimidation • Does that corruption have to include senior public officials? • Can we have long-term serious corruption without ‘real’ organized crime? • More variation within the category than between ‘organized’ and ‘unorganized’ crime • Corrupt environments attract crime groups that seek ‘reliable’ settings to collaborate • Does corruption always need laundering? • As with other crimes, depends on income levels of offenders and their savings from crime beyond subsistence/lifestyle expenses