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News Analyst Network
Nov 28 2009
Organized crime in the Caucasus
by Ioannis Michaletos
28 Nov 2009
Caucasus is traditionally seen as the geographical bridge between
Europe and the Middle East and it is one of the focal regions in
modern day global politics due to its sensitive placement within the
reach of some of the most volatile, yet energy rich peripheries of
Eurasia.
Moreover it is a region, with a colorful history, which in recent
times it has provided world headlines, as the case of the war in
Georgia in 2008 showed, or the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the
various ethnic conflicts in Dagestan, Ingushetia and other.
Organized crime activity is rife in the Caucasus and has become quite
an issue due tot he internalization of the reach of the criminal
networks based there, an issue that concerns European countries
mostly.
Armenia
The country according to numerous reports such as the annual State
Department's country files and the estimations by the Interpol and the
United Nations is both a source and a destination country of women
trafficking, and especially in relation to the states of Germany,
Greece, Russia, Turkey, Italy and the United Arab Emirates.
Moreover the so-called Armenian mafia has established firm roots in
California, Paris, Panama, Lebanon, mainly exploiting the presence of
sizeable members of the Armenian communities in those regions. The
main specialization is money laundering, loan sharking and weapons
smuggling. Although the Armenian state has in various occasions
disbanded domestic criminal networks, the main problem has yet to be
addressed, due to the need for capital in this inland Caucasus country
that is strongly inhibited for its progress because of the
Nagorno-Karabakh issue that froze its relations with Azerbaitzan.
A sure predication for the near future is the organized crime activity
will continue, providing a significant percentage of the country's
GDP, whilst it will remain interlinked with various interests mainly
in the middle-to-top state apparatus of the country.
Azerbaitzan
The oil and natural gas filled country of the Caspian, faces great
difficulties in coping with a rising narcotics issue in its territory
and there is significant presence of influential Turkish and Iranian
crime groups. Moreover trafficking as well as illegal immigration are
another two lucrative illegal sectors and there is a nexus between
Istanbul and the United Arab Emirates in terms of money laundering and
precious metals contraband.
The domestic Azeri groups have managed to form international networks
in Vienna and the major German metropolises, while there are various
indications that organized crime in that country has proved capable of
entrapping notable figures of Baku and use them as "Protégés" in order
to secure immunity for their unlawful actions.
Despite the Nargono Karabach issue, both Azeri and Armenian criminal
groups cooperate in the illegal arms market sector, a phenomena that
has its roots since the first war in 1993 when groups of these
countries supplied weapons to the other side, even when the two
countries were at war.
Georgia
This Black Sea country, deals with a serious narcotics issue, and its
territory is being used either as a transit or as a base locality by
Chechen, Turkish and Azeri groups. Over the past few years there have
been cases of heroin trafficking from Georgia to the Romanian port of
Konstanja and the Bulgarian port of Burgas. The heroin shipment
derived originally from Afghanistan and the international security
authorities estimate that this is a secondary route towards the
importation of heroin into Europe.
Arms and women trafficking are quite developed in Georgia and mainly
under the control of local networks. The so-called Georgian mafia is
influential in Russia, Israel, Turkey, Hungary and Ukraine. The main
specialization is contraband of luxury items, tobacco smuggling,
weapons trafficking and illegal gambling. Moreover there are many
indications that certain Georgian groups are being used as "Hit
-Squads" by other crime groups and perform assassinations or
intimidation operations against competitors.
Estimations
Although it cannot be estimated precisely, due to the lack of relevant
research and statistics, it would be safe to assume, that the annual
turnover of the organized crime activities in Caucasus, is by far the
largest enterprise in those countries, bar the energy sector and it
amounts into more than 10 billion Euros per annum.
Moreover, due to the interrelation between crime and politics,
especially in a local level, the organized crime issue in Caucasus has
wider political implications as well. For instance during the war in
Georgia in 2008, the Russian state banned monetary transactions
between the Georgians living in the Russian federation and the
Georgia. As a consequence the crime groups in that country were eager
for a swift end of the war although that didn't seem at that time to
be the official position of the Georgian government.
Despite the fact that the above may be a positive function of the link
between crime and society, it is important to note around the
existence of a societal influence of crime lords within their domestic
political environment, that any neutral foreign observant should make
a note of when assessing the reality in Caucasus.
Lastly, the current volatile international financial climate due to
the ongoing crisis provides a further impetus for crime networks
originating from Caucasus, to expand further in order to raise
capital. In such a case, the European markets, with their affluent
consumer markets for all kinds of illegal sectors, should be aware for
an increase of crime activity, streaming from Caucasus, and of course
this includes crime groups from other regions as well.
Already in countries such as Greece, Czech Republic, Italy and Turkey
there has been a noticeable increase of the aforementioned, and there
are various indications that organized crime activity, visible even to
the ordinary citizen will make a remarkable presence over 2010,
perhaps even further.
http://www.analyst-network.com/article.p hp?art_id=3237
Nov 28 2009
Organized crime in the Caucasus
by Ioannis Michaletos
28 Nov 2009
Caucasus is traditionally seen as the geographical bridge between
Europe and the Middle East and it is one of the focal regions in
modern day global politics due to its sensitive placement within the
reach of some of the most volatile, yet energy rich peripheries of
Eurasia.
Moreover it is a region, with a colorful history, which in recent
times it has provided world headlines, as the case of the war in
Georgia in 2008 showed, or the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the
various ethnic conflicts in Dagestan, Ingushetia and other.
Organized crime activity is rife in the Caucasus and has become quite
an issue due tot he internalization of the reach of the criminal
networks based there, an issue that concerns European countries
mostly.
Armenia
The country according to numerous reports such as the annual State
Department's country files and the estimations by the Interpol and the
United Nations is both a source and a destination country of women
trafficking, and especially in relation to the states of Germany,
Greece, Russia, Turkey, Italy and the United Arab Emirates.
Moreover the so-called Armenian mafia has established firm roots in
California, Paris, Panama, Lebanon, mainly exploiting the presence of
sizeable members of the Armenian communities in those regions. The
main specialization is money laundering, loan sharking and weapons
smuggling. Although the Armenian state has in various occasions
disbanded domestic criminal networks, the main problem has yet to be
addressed, due to the need for capital in this inland Caucasus country
that is strongly inhibited for its progress because of the
Nagorno-Karabakh issue that froze its relations with Azerbaitzan.
A sure predication for the near future is the organized crime activity
will continue, providing a significant percentage of the country's
GDP, whilst it will remain interlinked with various interests mainly
in the middle-to-top state apparatus of the country.
Azerbaitzan
The oil and natural gas filled country of the Caspian, faces great
difficulties in coping with a rising narcotics issue in its territory
and there is significant presence of influential Turkish and Iranian
crime groups. Moreover trafficking as well as illegal immigration are
another two lucrative illegal sectors and there is a nexus between
Istanbul and the United Arab Emirates in terms of money laundering and
precious metals contraband.
The domestic Azeri groups have managed to form international networks
in Vienna and the major German metropolises, while there are various
indications that organized crime in that country has proved capable of
entrapping notable figures of Baku and use them as "Protégés" in order
to secure immunity for their unlawful actions.
Despite the Nargono Karabach issue, both Azeri and Armenian criminal
groups cooperate in the illegal arms market sector, a phenomena that
has its roots since the first war in 1993 when groups of these
countries supplied weapons to the other side, even when the two
countries were at war.
Georgia
This Black Sea country, deals with a serious narcotics issue, and its
territory is being used either as a transit or as a base locality by
Chechen, Turkish and Azeri groups. Over the past few years there have
been cases of heroin trafficking from Georgia to the Romanian port of
Konstanja and the Bulgarian port of Burgas. The heroin shipment
derived originally from Afghanistan and the international security
authorities estimate that this is a secondary route towards the
importation of heroin into Europe.
Arms and women trafficking are quite developed in Georgia and mainly
under the control of local networks. The so-called Georgian mafia is
influential in Russia, Israel, Turkey, Hungary and Ukraine. The main
specialization is contraband of luxury items, tobacco smuggling,
weapons trafficking and illegal gambling. Moreover there are many
indications that certain Georgian groups are being used as "Hit
-Squads" by other crime groups and perform assassinations or
intimidation operations against competitors.
Estimations
Although it cannot be estimated precisely, due to the lack of relevant
research and statistics, it would be safe to assume, that the annual
turnover of the organized crime activities in Caucasus, is by far the
largest enterprise in those countries, bar the energy sector and it
amounts into more than 10 billion Euros per annum.
Moreover, due to the interrelation between crime and politics,
especially in a local level, the organized crime issue in Caucasus has
wider political implications as well. For instance during the war in
Georgia in 2008, the Russian state banned monetary transactions
between the Georgians living in the Russian federation and the
Georgia. As a consequence the crime groups in that country were eager
for a swift end of the war although that didn't seem at that time to
be the official position of the Georgian government.
Despite the fact that the above may be a positive function of the link
between crime and society, it is important to note around the
existence of a societal influence of crime lords within their domestic
political environment, that any neutral foreign observant should make
a note of when assessing the reality in Caucasus.
Lastly, the current volatile international financial climate due to
the ongoing crisis provides a further impetus for crime networks
originating from Caucasus, to expand further in order to raise
capital. In such a case, the European markets, with their affluent
consumer markets for all kinds of illegal sectors, should be aware for
an increase of crime activity, streaming from Caucasus, and of course
this includes crime groups from other regions as well.
Already in countries such as Greece, Czech Republic, Italy and Turkey
there has been a noticeable increase of the aforementioned, and there
are various indications that organized crime activity, visible even to
the ordinary citizen will make a remarkable presence over 2010,
perhaps even further.
http://www.analyst-network.com/article.p hp?art_id=3237