says new the new UNODC’s Global Study on Homicide 2019.
Since the start of the twenty-first century, organized crime killed about as many people as all armed conflicts across the world combined. Moreover, just like armed conflicts, organized crime destabilizes countries, undermines socioeconomic development and erodes the rule of law.
The UNODC study found that organized crime is one of the biggest drivers of homicides around the world. Organized crime was responsible for up to 19% of deaths worldwide.
Most homicide victims are men, but women more often killed by family and intimate partners Globally, some 81 per cent of homicide victims recorded in 2017 were men and boys, and more than 90 per cent of suspects in homicide cases were men, according to the most recent estimates. However, the study shows that the gender disparity among victims changes with age. Girls and boys aged nine and under are killed at roughly equal rates, in marked contrast to all other age groups, in which males make up more than 50 per cent of the victims, according to data from 41 countries….Press/Release Methodological Annex to The Global Study on Homicide 2019 GLOBAL STUDY ON HOMICIDE Executive Summary
What is a free port? Plans have been mooted for tax-free zones to offset post-Brexit tariffs. But are they needed? And do they actually work?
Lux goods: inside Luxembourg’s warehouse for the super-rich.
The medieval Cinque Ports of southern England and the northern European Hanseatic League benefited from special privileges, while bonded warehouses in the 19th century handed out tax breaks on alcohol and tobacco.
Ireland created the Shannon free zone in 1959 to encourage activity at its struggling airport.
Britain operated several free ports as recently as 2012, when the government stopped renewing their licences. Created in the 1980s, they included Birmingham, Belfast, Cardiff, Liverpool, Prestwick and Southampton. A free port remains in operation on the Isle of Man – a crown dependency and therefore not part of the EU or UK.
Does the UK need to leave the EU to establish free ports?Within the EU, there are currently 82 free ports or zones in 21 EU member states, including historic free ports such as Copenhagen and Bremen, raising questions over whether the UK would need to leave the EU to make more use of them.The UK has in recent years created 61 enterprise zones – which differ from free zones but still benefit from tax breaks – including the Ceramic Valley in Stoke-on-Trent and the Dorset innovation park.Obstacles could arise, however, if the government created free zones with particularly aggressive benefits equivalent to tax havens, which could be contested under EU law.
Other nations could still object at the World Trade Organisation, while aggressive tax policies and state support could hinder a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU.Would free zones benefit the UK?…TheGuardian
Inside the Luxembourg free port storing riches for the super-wealthy. Depending on who you speak to, Le Freeport is a high-security storage facility or a money-laundering risk…Theguardian
A five-step guide
Dirty money needs laundering if it’s to be of any use – and the UK is the best place in the world to do it.
Oliver Bullough reports: Kleptocrats, fraudsters and crooks steal hundreds of billions of pounds, dollars and euros from the rest of us every year, but that gives them a problem: how can they stop the rest of us knowing what they’ve done with the proceeds? They have to stop their haul looking suspicious, to cleanse it of any criminal taint, or face losing their hard-stolen cash.
Money laundering, as this process is known, is notoriously difficult to uncover, investigate and prosecute. Occasionally, however, an insider breaks cover – someone such as Howard Wilkinson, who blew the whistle on perhaps the largest money-laundering scheme in history, the movement of €200bn of suspect funds through the Estonian branch of Denmark’s biggest bank between 2007 and 2015, most of it earned in the dodgier corners of the former Soviet Union, some perhaps belonging to Vladimir Putin himself.
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“No one really knows where this money went,” Wilkinson, a former Danske Bank employee, told Denmark’s parliament last year. Once the money had got into the global financial system, “it was clean, it was free.”
Britain’s most famous money launderer is HSBC, thanks to its systematic cleansing of the earnings of the Latin American drug cartels over the second half of the last decade, for which it was fined $1.9bn by the US government in 2012. But that was a tiny operation compared to the Danske Bank scandal. If gathered together, the suspect funds moved through the bank’s Estonian outpost could buy HSBC, with more than enough left over to buy Danske Bank too.
The scandal has been big news in Denmark and Estonia, but barely grazed public consciousness in the UK. This is strange, because Britain played a key role. All of the owners of the bank accounts that first aroused Wilkinson’s suspicions had their identity hidden behind corporate structures registered in the UK – including Lantana Trade LLP, the one that may have been connected to Putin. That means this is not just a Russian, Estonian or Danish scandal, but something far closer to home. In November, Wilkinson told a European parliament committee that the countries hosting these companies are just as culpable. “Worst of all is the United Kingdom,” he said. “The United Kingdom is an absolute disgrace.”
The British government is supposedly committed to tackling grand corruption and financial crime, yet Britain’s involvement in this mega-scandal has never been mentioned in parliament, or been addressed by ministers. It is far from the first time that British companies have been involved in high-profile money-laundering. Among the characters who have used British shell companies to hide their money are Paul Manafort, disgraced former chairman of Donald Trump’s election campaign, and Viktor Yanukovich, overthrown president of Ukraine, among thousands of lower-profile opportunists…..TheGuardian
The Transnational Security Report “Cooperating Across Borders: Tackling Illicit Flows” covers selected spotlights of transnational illicit flows – from the trafficking of goods, arms, and people, to illicit financial flows – which endanger global security by funding conflicts and perpetuating instability. The report illustrates regional and international security implications and provides ideas for cooperative solutions, building on ongoing efforts by many institutions across the world.
Modelled on the MSC’s flagship Munich Security Report, as well as thematic reports such as the European Defence Report, the data analysis and graphics – many of them previously unpublished or updated specifically for this report – were compiled in close cooperation with renowned institutions and experts dedicated to increasing the understanding of illicit flows and transnational organized crime in its different forms and countering its threat to stability and security….Securityconference MSC Transnational Security Report
#münchnersicherheitskonferenz Munich Security Report : “Lets Talk About Peace”
On 20 June 2019 Congressman Robert Pittenger and Hon. Sonia Krimi hosted the 14th Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum in Paris France. This forum has provided the opportunity for Members of Parliament throughout the world to learn from experts and each other about issues of national security particularly in reference to counter-terrorism efforts. These forums have not only shared critical information but encouraged co-operation between governments, private, and public sector organizations.
The 14th forum aimed to address the growing concern about the relationship between countering terrorism and the financing of terrorism. The conference discussed where terrorism currently stands, how it functions, and how the international community can counter terrorist financing methods. While this forum highlighted several terrorist organizations, for the purposes of this article, the focus will be on the discussion surrounding Jihadist terrorist movements.
The terrorism threat has changed dramatically over the last several decades. With huge population growth in areas without access to markets and vulnerability of states in the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa, the rifts in the Jihadist nebula have primed areas to recruit and act. There is no longer one state, but insurgencies in previously nonimpacted areas all which create a larger global network and establish roots in strategy. While the aims of the different fissures in this network differ, they are beginning to develop new strategic priorities to determine to focus on close or remote enemies.
Women also act as perpetrators and supporters of terrorism, as we have seen recently that there has been an increase in attention to female foreign terrorists fighters traveling to (and returning from) conflict zones. This radicalization of the role of women in spreading this terrorist network, while under-studied, is a crucial component to the spread of global jihadist network and changes in strategic movements in the variety of groups and networks.
This shift has come with new approaches to the tactics of terrorist groups. There has been a rise in the myth of the Caliphate in the Middle Eastern region, perpetuated by leaders who allow this myth to expand. Alongside the growing reliance on social media, terrorist groups are able to reach more individuals, create a larger network, increase visibility, and dissolve information with ease. This larger global system is then bolstered by a marriage of convenience between terrorist groups and gangs, mafias, and other crime organizations. This convergence has increased the amount of illicit money and terrorist financing (through money laundering and other illegal methods).
Women have played a key role in this new type of terrorism and the justification of illegal financing in these groups. As these groups tend to have a foundation in purity, through the twisting of the Quran they are able to make trafficking and laundering acceptable to support their efforts. Women have served as a compliment to this system and used to support this financing process providing both practical support and justification in these financing methods.
The rate of terrorism and the illegal funding of these organizations can be worsened by economic exclusion which weaken states and make them vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Further, there are new methods of warfare which can be quicker, larger scale, and of greater intensity than previous terrorist methods. The international community must act swiftly to address these new risks and rely on coordination between governments and the private sector.
To fight this terrorism, we cannot rely on conventional warfare. There is a significant difference in the strength of states and terrorist groups benefit from over-reaction from states. Therefore, lethal methods must be a last resort and we should first aim to stifle terrorism at its start- specifically in terms of financing. The international community should emphasis AFL/CFT regulations to reduce reliance on money laundry and create strong financial structures in states to monitor money laundering. Women’s unique roles in societies can serve as an important role in order to enhance the effectiveness of these type of policies. In order for this defense style to work, we must reduce disunity between democracies to ensure clear communication and collaboration to end terrorist financing.
When addressing counter terrorism financing rules, it is crucial to consider the impact which these laws may have on women. For example, research has demonstrated that counter-terrorism financial laws can impact women more severely in places where access to the formal banking sector is limited and the rely on alternative remittance system. These areas may also be more highly susceptible to terrorism and counter terrorism laws as weaker states with less access to economic inclusion may be vulnerable. These rules may also increase risks for women’s rights organizations and undermine peace work according to Women’s International League for Freedom.
The 14th Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum was an excellent convergence of government representatives and members of the private sector to address this important and rapidly changing nature of terrorism and terrorist organization’s financing. There was an emphasis on the relationship between organizations and governments to create a coordinated approach to stifling the sources of financing in terrorist cases. We must learn from this conference and encourage strong structures AFL/CFT, greater coordination between different groups, and a renewed focus on the nature of counter terrorist financing methods.
Below is a video summary report of the 14th Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum in Paris on June 20, 2019 held at the French National Assembly with 180 delegates from 32 countries. We have provided twelve brief interviews of the thirty officials and experts who addressed the forum.
Arend van Dam https://www.w-t-w.org/en/arend-van-dam/
Authorities in the United States have more information about library card holders than the owners of registered companies, according to a bipartisan group of U.S. senators behind a bill that would overhaul the country’s dated anti-money-laundering laws.
The senators, members of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, are seeking to enact The Illicit Cash Act, which would empower regulators to force shell companies to disclose their true ownership for the first time.
The draft bill was introduced on June 10. Key proponent, Senator Doug Jones, a Democrat from Alabama, said that as a former U.S. Attorney he was “all too familiar with criminals hiding behind shell corporations to enable their illegal behavior.”
“Our anti-money laundering laws have not kept pace with the increasingly sophisticated means by which criminals and terrorist organizations use our financial system to move their money around the world,” he said in a joint press release. Lack of transparency….ICIJ.org/Investigation
Organized Crime – What Does It Mean To Women?
Women And Children Worldwide Suffer Most From Corruption! Lets Fight Together Against Transnational Organized Crime – TOC, Corruption And Money Laundering.
Anti Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism – AML/CFT
What Can Women-Networks Do About?
Talk and inform about Transnational Organized Crime – TOC, Mafia,
corruption and money laundering
Offer advice on how to present these subjects
Appreciate whistle-blowers, the police, journalists and experts on money laundering, and propose them for awards
Crime enablers: Reveal the web of patronage, cover-up and disguising
Find lady scientists who research in this field and discuss with them possibilities to resolve these problems
Form working groups for individual subjects, invite lady experts.
Solidarity and networking with women, educate children in this sense
Support antimafia organizations, travel-and-study groups. Don’t buy drugs and fake products
Send readers’ letters to the press and members of parliament. Ask questions
Demand freedom of information laws and transparency
If necessary file a criminal complaint
Inform TV/radio/video/film and vote in elections
Find others who are interested: authoresses, bloggers, social media groups, lady-directors, films, artists
Organisierte Kriminalität – Was geht das Frauen an?
Was bedeutet Crime Enabling? Wie verschleiert man ein Verbrechen ? Was ist ein Heimlichkeitsdelikt oder eine Vertuschungsgemeinschaft? Was können Frauen-Netzwerke tun?
IS is not the first jihadi movement to attract female followers. Many of its predecessors — including al-Qaeda — also had their share of female supporters. Yet the meteoric rise of IS appears to have brought about a leap in the nature and extent of women’s roles within jihadi groups. Alternatively, one could suggest that the increased assimilation of women into the organisation in itself contributed to IS’s swift ascent.
What is certain is that women have become indispensable to IS, both in conflict areas and in the West (including in the European Union). They play their role in the organisation’s state-building enterprise, produce and disseminate propaganda and have seemingly been granted more proactive roles on the ‘battlefield’. The worry is that this increase in the involvement of women could pave the way for potentially major changes in the role of jihadi women in the future.Women in Islamic State Propaganda
The fight against money laundering in Canada will require tougher measures that shine a light on the perpetrators who now operate in the shadows, says a new report from the C.D.
Howe Institute. In “Why We Fail to Catch Money Launderers 99.9 percent of the Time,” author Kevin Comeau supports the creation of a publicly accessible registry of beneficial ownership, and mandatory declarations of beneficial ownership with meaningful sanctions for false declarations.
Canada’s anti-money-laundering protections (particularly as they pertain to real estate) are among the weakest of those of the western liberal democracies, he writes, so Canada likely receives a significant amount of international dirty money. “While it is impossible to estimate the exact amount of money laundering, a realistic estimate of the magnitude of dirty money laundered in Canada each year likely lies in range of $100- $130 billion,” says Comeau.
Unfortunately, neither the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance in its November 2018 report on money laundering, nor the December 2018 amendments to the Canada Business Corporations Act, included either of the two tougher measures.
Working from first principles, Comeau explains why those two measures are instrumental to combatting money laundering. He identifies three unique advantages money launderers enjoy over those tasked with investigating and prosecuting their crimes — the effective invisibility of the crime of money laundering, the anonymity of its perpetrators, and the legal obstacles to following their dirty money — from which he derives the objectives and legislative initiatives needed to reduce those advantages.
“Anonymity and invisibility could be reduced by implementing a publicly accessible registry of beneficial ownership of companies, trusts and real estate. Structured properly, a public registry would offer a two-way flow of information – communication of beneficial ownership information to the world and communication of foreign-based information to Canadian authorities – which would bring more bad guys into the light of day, “ he explains.
Comeau says that privacy concerns are critically important. That’s why he recommends that a public registry should divide filed information into publicly accessible and strictly confidential compartments. Basic information needed to connect perpetrators of crimes to their registered nominees would be publicly accessible. Sensitive information, such as passport numbers and full residential addresses, would be protected as strictly confidential and accessible only by the registrar to verify filed information and by law enforcement agencies on a need-to-know basis.
He also notes that the public registry would only require disclosure of beneficial ownership. It does not involve any disclosure of financial information or business operations, thereby minimizing intrusion on privacy.
“Obstacles to following the dirty money could be reduced by creating a new criminal offence: a false declaration of beneficial ownership, whether made on a public registry or submitted by a customer to a Reporting Entity. Not only would such an offence bring more integrity to the beneficial-ownership information being disclosed; it would also provide a solid base from which law enforcement agencies could conduct investigations of suspicious transactions,” explains Comeau.
Implementation of these two recommendations should fundamentally improve Canada’s ability to combat money laundering and reduce the harm it inflicts upon Canadians and other global citizens. Perhaps then Canada will no longer fail to catch money launderers 99.9 percent of the time…Full Report
«Security Switzerland 2019»: Federal Intelligence Service presents its annual report.
The security environment is becoming increasingly fragmented and complex. The Federal Intelligence Service’s (FIS) anticipation and detection capabilities play a leading role in identifying and assessing threats in good time, thus ensuring that the required preventive measures are taken. Published in a new, simplified form, the FIS annual report presents the most important developments in the intelligence scene over the past year.
The crisis situations in Europe that the FIS has highlighted in its annual reports for several years now are characterised by the marked increase in non-State actors and the opportunities offered by hybrid warfare. The return of power politics, sometimes with pronounced unilateral features, increased tensions between western states and Russia, and political and economic challenges in European countries form part of a constantly changing picture. The old order is changing under pressure from new forces that are not only political, economic and military in nature, but also technological, social and cultural. It is not clear where this change is leading us. In this world of insecurity and growing uncertainty, the FIS makes a vital contribution: the overall picture compiled from intelligence findings is an essential element in the decision-making process for security policy makers……Admin.ch/gov/en
Increasing rivalry between the major powers.
Terrorism remains a threat despite the collapse of the Caliphate
The far-right on the rise
The fight against money laundering in Canada will require tougher measures that shine a light on the perpetrators who now operate in the shadows, says a new report from the C.D.
