Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime

On the 1st May 2024, 711 migrants successfully crossed the Channel between France and the UK in small boats. This year is so far on track to see the highest number of crossings on record.

This highly industrialised illicit industry estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of Euros, has seen the coast of northern France demarcated between competing gangs from a specific region of the Middle East, and who have a long history of smuggling.

They control the entire length of the route, from beginning to end - targeting prospective migrants through social media, offering package deals, and advice on how to speak to authorities on arrival. Some migrants even use their own knowledge of the trip to become smugglers themselves.

In this episode we take a look at the criminal groups behind the small boat crossings; how organised the logistics are; how much money they make and where it goes; and finally what this could mean for the future of other illicit economies in Western Europe.

Speaker(s):

Tuesday Reitano, Deputy Director of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, author of the book Migrant, Refugee, Smuggler, Saviour. Author of the report Small Boats, Big Business: The Industrialization of Cross-Channel Migrant Smuggling.

Julien Goudichaud, documentary filmmaker who has been reporting on people smugglers who operate in Calais.

Afshin Ismaeli, a journalist and war photographer from Norway.

Links:

(GI Paper) Small Boats, Big Business: The Industrialization of Cross-Channel Migrant Smuggling - available in English & French

(Book) Migrant, Refugee, Smuggler, Saviour

(GI Paper) The Human Conveyor Belt: Trends in human trafficking and smuggling in post-revolution Libya

(GI Analysis) An increasing number of Albanians are crossing the English Channel from France using small boats

(GI Analysis) Western Balkan criminal groups are important players in the Netherlands

Additional Links

https://calaismigrantsolidarity.wordpress.com/deaths-at-the-calais-border/

https://www.duvarenglish.com/illegal-networks-in-turkey-said-to-be-providing-fake-passports-to-isis-members-to-travel-to-west-news-60262

https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/16-arrests-vietnamese-network-smuggling-migrants-across-english-channel-busted

https://www.migrationwatchuk.org/channel-crossings-tracker

https://news.sky.com/story/more-than-700-people-cross-channel-in-busiest-day-of-the-year-so-far-13127430

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/migrants-detected-crossing-the-english-channel-in-small-boats

https://labour.org.uk/updates/stories/labours-immigration-and-border-policy-stop-small-boats/

https://www.bbc.com/news/explainers-61782866

https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/five-high-value-targets-arrested-one-of-largest-networks-smuggling-migrants-across-english-channel-halted

https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/39-arrests-in-cross-border-operation-against-migrant-smuggling-in-small-boats-across-english-channel

https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20220923-france-busts-people-smugglers-accused-of-making-thousands-from-channel-crossings

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/16/decathlon-stops-canoe-sales-in-northern-france-to-curb-migrant-crossings

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/migrants-detected-crossing-the-english-channel-in-small-boats/migrants-detected-crossing-the-english-channel-in-small-boats-last-7-days

https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/50834/inside-frances-battle-against-migrant-smugglers-a-closer-look

https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/convicted-the-east-london-money-launderer-who-took-payments-for-small-boats-crossings

https://www.facebook.com/NCA/videos/-arrest-footagea-man-investigated-by-the-nca-for-laundering-money-made-by-people/1573557123417557/

https://www.cps.gov.uk/cps/news/man-convicted-running-illegal-financial-service-people-smugglers

https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/gang-leader-who-bragged-of-smuggling-more-than-100-women-into-uk-jailed-for-10-years

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/migrant-channel-crossings-europol-nca-arrests-b2116830.html

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-67145474

https://news.sky.com/video/former-landlady-of-hewa-rahimpur-says-she-is-in-shock-over-people-smuggling-allegations-12956583

https://news.sky.com/story/hewa-rahimpur-gang-leader-who-smuggled-up-to-10-000-migrants-across-channel-jailed-12986202

https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/prolific-small-boats-people-smuggling-network-dismantled-as-part-of-international-operation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC85bBq8MXo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuZjG3UCufg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv2mJtx9o5M&t=53s

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/gunfights-between-channel-smugglers-jns9dcntj

https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/06/19/mediterranean-migration-crisis/why-people-flee-what-eu-should-do

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/663cdb73bd01f5ed3279386c/07_May_2024_Small_boats_-_time_series.ods

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/channel-migrants-small-boats-asylum-rwanda-b1155217.html

LockBit, the world's largest ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) provider suffered a very public takedown by an international law enforcement task force, Operation Cronos.

The ransomware behemoth quickly relaunched just days later. But in a world where trust is key, might the reputational damage be too great?

This is the story of the rise of LockBit, its relationship with other infamous cybercriminal groups, its uneasy relationship with some affiliates, its curious leader LockBitsupp, the public takedown and the relaunch, and what this means for the future of ransomware-as-a-service.

Speaker(s):

Koryak Uzan, Co-founder & Managing Director of PRODAFT

Links:

GITOC - The Rise and Fall of the Conti ransomware group

PRODAFT - LockBit: Behind the Lines of the Notorious RaaS

PRODAFT - The Demise of LOCKBIT: Disrupting the Most Prominent Ransomware Gang by Utilizing Upstream Threat Intelligence

https://twitter.com/PRODAFT

https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/gb/security/news/ransomware-by-the-numbers/lockbit-blackcat-and-clop-prevail-as-top-raas-groups-for-1h-2023

https://www.wired.com/story/lockbit-ransomware-takedown-website-nca-fbi/

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/02/fulton-county-security-experts-call-lockbits-bluff/

https://www.blackfog.com/the-top-10-ransomware-groups-of-2023/

https://go.recordedfuture.com/webinar/threat-briefing/lockbit-takedown

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-19/fbi-uk-crime-agency-say-they-have-disrupted-lockbit-hacking-gang?cmpid=cyber

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/lockbit-ransomware-returns-to-attacks-with-new-encryptors-servers/

https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/nca-leads-international-investigation-targeting-worlds-most-harmful-ransomware-group

https://samples.vx-underground.org/tmp/Lockbit_Statement_2024-02-24.txt

https://therecord.media/lockbit-lied-about-deleting-exfiltrated-data-after-ransom-payments

https://www.sophos.com/en-us/content/state-of-ransomware

https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/gb/security/news/ransomware-spotlight/ransomware-spotlight-rhysida

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/06/hacker-british-library-cybersecurity-cybercrime-uk

https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa23-352a

https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/us/security/news/ransomware-spotlight/ransomware-spotlight-royal

https://www.reuters.com/technology/cybersecurity/blackcat-ransomware-site-claims-it-was-seized-uk-law-enforcement-denies-being-2024-03-05/

https://thehackernews.com/2024/03/exit-scam-blackcat-ransomware-group.html

https://twitter.com/ddd1ms/status/1764979901965201552

https://www.cpomagazine.com/cyber-security/under-increasing-federal-scrutiny-blackcat-ransomware-gang-pulls-exit-scam-on-its-way-out/

https://www.trustwave.com/en-us/resources/blogs/spiderlabs-blog/resurgence-of-blackcat-ransomware/

https://www.cpomagazine.com/cyber-security/blackcat-ransomware-gang-recovers-from-early-december-law-enforcement-operation-restores-websites-seized-by-doj/

https://www.darkreading.com/threat-intelligence/lockbit-leak-site-reemerges-week-after-complete-compromise-

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/prodaft_manual-ransomware-business-activity-7026870344648916992-mgZX/?originalSubdomain=nl

https://therecord.media/lockbit-ransomware-indictments-us-doj-bassterlord

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2114

https://therecord.media/lockbit-affiliates-arrested-in-ukraine-poland

https://www.reuters.com/technology/cybersecurity/ukraine-arrests-father-son-duo-lockbit-cybercrime-bust-2024-02-21/

https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/lockbit-takedown-sanctions-february-2024/

https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/law-enforcement-disrupt-worlds-biggest-ransomware-operation

https://analyst1.com/this-forum-is-a-bunch-of-communists-and-they-set-me-up-lockbit-spills-the-tea-regarding-their-recent-ban-on-russian-speaking-forums/

https://securityaffairs.com/149941/hacking/lockbit-3-leaked-code-usage.html

https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/ransomware-as-a-service-gang-lockbit-pays-first-50k-bounty-a-20099

https://therecord.media/wazawaka-cyber-most-wanted-interview-click-here

https://www.state.gov/the-department-of-state-announces-reward-offer-against-russian-ransomware-actor/

https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/cyber/mikhail-pavlovich-matveev

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/evil-corp-switches-to-lockbit-ransomware-to-evade-sanctions/

https://resources.prodaft.com/fin7-cybercrime-gang

https://analyst1.com/ransomware-diaries-volume-1/

https://www.mimecast.com/content/darkside-ransomware/

https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa21-291a

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/lockbit-ransomware-goes-green-uses-new-conti-based-encryptor/

https://blog.talosintelligence.com/ransomware-affiliate-model/

https://www.csoonline.com/article/573937/with-conti-gone-lockbit-takes-lead-of-the-ransomware-threat-landscape.html

https://youtu.be/0EQenbbPSaE

https://threatpost.com/darkside-hackers-court-paying-affiliates/166393/

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/13/us/politics/biden-colonial-pipeline-ransomware.html

https://twitter.com/vxunderground/status/1568273779050127363?lang=en

https://twitter.com/vxunderground/status/1568981950043414530?lang=en

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/msrc/bounty

https://bughunters.google.com/

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/lockbit-30-introduces-the-first-ransomware-bug-bounty-program/

https://analyst1.com/lockbit-takedown-operation-cronos-a-long-awaited-psyops-against-ransomware/

https://twitter.com/vxunderground/status/1697027546452259277

https://twitter.com/NCA_UK/status/1759888184979157123

https://twitter.com/NCA_UK/status/1759873080069910955

https://twitter.com/NCA_UK/status/1759857979086499939

https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/law-enforcement-disrupt-worlds-biggest-ransomware-operation

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-and-uk-disrupt-lockbit-ransomware-variant

https://twitter.com/NCA_UK/status/1759842879688655053

https://twitter.com/NCA_UK/status/1759906806044725514

https://therecord.media/an-interview-with-lockbit-the-risk-of-being-hacked-ourselves-is-always-present

Russian organized crime has a mythology attached to it - the brutal tattooed men of the Vory v Zakone. But those days are long in the past, rapid globalisation saw a new type of organized criminal take the reins in the Russian underworld, spreading their influence as criminal facilitators across the world.

But the war in Ukraine has changed that. It's changed the relationship between organized crime and the Russian state, the status quo within the established criminal order, the potential vacuum left by those criminals who fight and die in the conflict, the establishment of Russian criminal groups outside of the country, the flows of illicit goods themselves have evolved, and then Ukraine, once so critical to those illicit flows, is currently lost.

Such is the uncertainty surrounding organized crime that there have been rumblings about a possible return to a dark period in Russian history, known as the 'Wild 90s' - a period of anarchy that is etched into the Russian psyche.

Speaker(s):

Mark Galeotti, the Executive Director of Mayak Intelligence, honorary professor at University College London, member of the GI Network. Author of ‘The Vory: Russia’s Super Mafia' and the GI-TOC paper: Time of Troubles: The Russian underworld since the Ukraine invasion

Links:

(GI Paper) Rebellion as racket: Crime and the Donbas conflict 2014-2022

(GI Paper) Evolving drug trends in wartime Ukraine

(GI Analysis) The devil’s not-so-new psychoactive substance: Alpha-PVP, a highly addictive synthetic drug, is experiencing growing demand in Ukraine.

(GI Paper) Crossroads: Kazakhstan's changing illicit drug economy

(GI Paper) Port in a storm: Organized crime in Odesa since the Russian invasion

(Podcast) “Death Can Wait”: Drugs on the Frontline in Ukraine

Research Links:

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/10/23/russian-artist-fined-for-extremist-toy-doll-with-prison-tattoos-a82852

https://tass.ru/obschestvo/9218777

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/08/17/russia-outlaws-childrens-criminal-underground-movement-a71178

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2014/sep/18/decoding-russian-criminal-tattoos-in-pictures

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68140873

https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-recruited-convicts-fierce-assault-units-storm-gladiator-/32806371.html

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russia-turns-off-prison-heating-to-make-inmates-fight-in-ukraine-njgg08wc9

https://www.gazeta.ru/politics/2015/08/26_a_7719581.shtml

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/08/18/murders-drugs-and-brawls-russias-pardoned-ex-convicts-return-home-after-fighting-in-ukraine-a82175

https://vk.com/wall-62402836_32981

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2023/11/14/in-russia-pardoned-murderers-are-returning-from-the-front-and-reoffending_6254288_4.html

https://www.ft.com/content/9fdb5668-7e55-4b09-a6ca-6ba77999530b

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/08/18/murders-drugs-and-brawls-russias-pardoned-ex-convicts-return-home-after-fighting-in-ukraine-a82175

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/11509

https://www.depo.ua/rus/politics/mae-shist-sudimostey-i-krishu-na-rosii-shcho-vidomo-pro-odnogo-z-nayplivovishikh-zlodiiv-v-zakoni-loru-sumskogo-yakogo-mozhut-viklyuchiti-z-sanktsiynogo-spisku-rnbo-202110171379964

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBFIKYeOgCA

https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/knb/press/news/details/545229?lang=ru

https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/knb/press/news/details/527735?lang=ru

https://meduza.io/feature/2023/01/26/mnogie-rossiyane-bezhali-ot-mobilizatsii-v-kazahstan-no-teper-v-strane-zapreschayut-vizaran-blagodarya-kotoromu-oni-mogli-zhit-bez-vnzh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DarVDSo5vY

https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-troops-locked-out-of-stolen-john-deere-farm-equipment-2022-5?r=US&IR=T

https://www.grainews.ca/machinery/machinery-brands-comply-with-global-sanctions-against-russia/

https://www.politico.eu/article/farm-machinery-gps-theft-uk-rural-crime-ukraine-russia-war-sanctions/

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/06/13/british-farms-crime-wave/

https://www.nfumutual.co.uk/media-centre/harvest-security-alert-as-cost-of-gps-thefts-doubles-in-2023/

https://www.businessinsider.com/catalytic-converter-thefts-rhodium-palladium-platinum-russian-involvement-2023-2?r=US&IR=T

https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/world/news/russia-is-resorting-to-putting-computer-chips-from-dishwashers-and-refrigerators-in-tanks-due-to-us-sanctions-official-says/articleshow/91519650.cms

https://web.archive.org/web/20221107114101/https:/www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russia-suspected-of-buying-eu-fridges-to-strip-for-weapon-parts-p73sdtngc

https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/special-resources/silicon-lifeline-western-electronics-heart-russias-war-machine

https://www.aftonbladet.se/ledare/a/GMMK76/darfor-behover-putin-svenska-fartkameror

https://www.uasvision.com/2022/10/24/swedens-stolen-speed-cameras-inside-russian-drones/

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202302199696

https://www.twz.com/bizarre-theft-wave-targets-same-rotax-engines-used-in-iranian-drones

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/bizarre-theft-wave-targets-same-rotax-engines-used-in-iranian-drones

https://x.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1584476545912971264?s=20

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/04/27/colonel-alexander-denisov-russia-ukraine-tank-engines/

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/16386

https://svpressa.ru/society/article/398101/

https://93.ru/text/incidents/2023/12/26/73060844/

https://cepa.org/article/fsb-gamekeepers-turn-poachers-in-putins-crime-riddled-state/

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/01/08/russian-fsb-officers-arrested-for-55mln-bribes-tass-a83655

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1997/05/12/banditry-threatens-the-new-russia/e46ef158-bd84-4ca9-870f-612817fe5854/

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/23/how-organised-crime-took-over-russia-vory-super-mafia

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1997/05/12/banditry-threatens-the-new-russia/e46ef158-bd84-4ca9-870f-612817fe5854/

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/abramovich-tells-of-role-in-aluminium-wars-6256950.html

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/apr/13/mining.russia1

https://www.svoboda.org/a/27226932.html

https://www.rferl.org/a/blood-sports-rise-of-russia-gangster-athletes/27722386.html

At the start of the year masked gunman burst into a television studio in Guayaquil, Ecuador. The cameras were live and the entire event was broadcast. The video shows gang members shouting at staff, pushing them to the ground, threatening them with guns and explosives. These pictures subsequently travelled around the world.

But this event was just one in a series to hit Ecuador in a short space of time. Car bombs, kidnappings, murder, prison riots, prominent prisoner escapes, and another national state of emergency.

Criminal violence has washed over the country as competing gangs like Los Choneros and Los Lobos battle in prisons and on the streets over control of the lucrative cocaine trafficking business. Foreign organized criminal actors like the Mexican Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation Cartels, the Albanian Mafia, FARC dissident groups from Colombia, and others, are all active in Ecuador, a country described as a "cocaine superhighway".

In the space of just five or so years, Ecuador has gone from one of the safest countries in Latin America to a country with one of the highest murder rates. In this episode we are going to talk about how this happened.

Speaker(s):

Felipe Botero Escobar, the Head of Andean Programmes at the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

GI-TOC:

(Paper) Organized crime declares war: The road to chaos in Ecuador

(Blog) Fernando Villavicencio - Assassination Witness Project

The Global Organized Crime Index - Ecuador Country Profile

(Paper) Transnational Tentacles: Global Hotspots of Balkan Organized Crime

(Podcast episode) The Index - Ecuador

(Paper) The cocaine pipeline to Europe

Additional Reading:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-12/gang-violence-ecuador-cocaine-banana-exports-los-choneros/103311442

https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/seguridad/el-fiscal-cesar-suarez-asesinado-en-los-ceibos-investigaba-el-ataque-armado-en-tc-television-nota/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-68014040

https://news.sky.com/story/prosecutor-investigating-ecuador-tv-station-attack-shot-dead-13050642

https://ecuador221.com.ec/ofrecen-recompensa-por-informacion-de-cinco-cabecillas-de-bandas-criminales/

https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/seguridad/colon-pico-captura-riobamba-enero-2024-nota/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-67912235

https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-01-09/daniel-noboa-declares-an-internal-armed-conflict-in-ecuador-after-an-armed-commando-breaks-into-a-television-station-live-on-air.html

https://crisis24.garda.com/alerts/2024/01/ecuador-criminal-groups-launch-attacks-jan-9-following-declaration-of-state-of-emergency-and-curfew-update-3

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/09/world/americas/ecuador-gang-prison-emergency.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12943831/Chaos-Ecuador-cops-abducted-prison-riots-cities-rocked-explosions-feared-Los-Choneros-gang-boss-Fito-escaped-jail-sparking-state-emergency.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-67921986

https://time.com/6552988/ecuador-most-wanted-criminal-fito-escape-guayaquil-prison/

https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-01-09/state-of-emergency-declared-in-ecuador-as-security-crisis-worsens.html

https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/seguridad/quien-es-alias-fito-el-cabecilla-que-el-gobierno-no-hallo-en-la-carcel-regional-durante-operativo-nota/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/01/09/ecuadoran-president-declares-armed-conflict-gunmen-storm-tv-studio/

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/2/ecuadors-embattled-president-lasso-will-not-seek-re-election

https://www.infobae.com/america/america-latina/2023/03/31/ecuador-asesinaron-a-ruben-cherrez-amigo-del-cunado-de-guillermo-lasso-y-vinculado-a-la-mafia-albanesa/

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Ecuadors-President-Calls-for-Investigation-of-Brother-in-law-20230314-0021.html

https://usacrime.com/leandro-el-patron-norero-beheaded-ecuador-prison/

https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20221005-new-clashes-break-out-in-ecuador-prison-after-deadly-riot

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-63126159

https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2024/01/25/can-ecuador-free-itself-from-the-grasp-of-the-drug-lords

https://insightcrime.org/news/gang-boss-money-launderer-murdered-ecuadorian-pison-riots/

https://insightcrime.org/news/judges-officials-fall-ecuador-cleans-house/

https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20240121-diana-salazar-the-prosecutor-spearheading-ecuador-s-fight-against-narcopolitics

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/12/ecuador-violence-bloody-drug-war

https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-08-13/once-ecuador-was-a-peaceful-country-now-it-is-one-of-the-regions-most-violent.html

https://www.ft.com/content/579d9423-e10d-4f2e-8fe8-33e12b80f25e

https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/seguridad/asesinan-julio-cesar-farachio-candidato-a-la-alcaldia-de-salinas-nota/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-64553935

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-66289355

https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-10-07/colombian-hitmen-who-killed-presidential-candidate-fernando-villavicencio-murdered-in-an-ecuadorian-prison.html

https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-08-13/fito-the-gang-leader-who-threatened-to-kill-candidate-fernando-villavicencio-moved-to-maximum-security-prison.html

https://www.ecuavisa.com/noticias/seguridad/orden-muerte-fernando-villavicencio-salio-desde-la-carcel-LD5948827

https://veja.abril.com.br/mundo/a-relacao-entre-membros-do-pcc-e-a-crise-de-violencia-no-equador

https://www.metropoles.com/mundo/faccoes-em-guerra-com-o-estado-no-equador-tem-vinculos-com-pcc-e-cv

https://eu.courier-journal.com/story/news/crime/2024/01/26/mexican-cartels-play-role-in-ecuador-violence-tv-station-storming/72255406007/

https://apnews.com/article/ecuador-crisis-killings-mexican-cartels-2b82e62999b2696e70bd0f6ce933026f

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/09/30/ecuador-prison-riot-cartels/

https://www.proceso.com.mx/nacional/justicia/2021/8/31/detienen-en-colombia-presunto-operador-del-cjng-270991.html

https://insightcrime.org/news/arrest-mexico-sinaloa-cartel-presence-colombia/

https://dialogo-americas.com/articles/mexican-cartels-bolster-foothold-and-alliances-in-colombia/

https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/latin-america/ecuador-nabs-wanted-narco-president-says-crackdown-bearing-fruit.phtml

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/senior-farc-commander-pleads-guilty-brooklyn-federal-court-conspiring-distribute

https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/22-00767-INCSR-2022-Vol-1.pdf

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-64785502

https://www.unodc.org/unodc/frontpage/2022/December/record-amounts-of-cocaine-seized-bring-the-builders-32-tons-of-cocaine-disposed-through-encapsulation-method-in-ecuador.html

https://insightcrime.org/news/record-cocaine-seizure-blow-to-ecuadors-gangs/

https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/2016/vol1/253260.htm

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/ecuador-presidential-hopefuls-pledge-action-ports-where-bananas-hide-cocaine-2023-10-11/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-10/dutch-seize-record-660-million-cocaine-hidden-in-banana-cargo

https://www.intellinews.com/banana-crates-from-ecuador-now-usual-suspect-for-turkey-s-cocaine-police-286135/?source=latin-america

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/italian-police-find-880-million-cocaine-stashed-banana-crates-2023-05-16/

https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/prison-for-drugs-gang-who-attempted-to-smuggle-cocaine-worth-11-million-in-bananas

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12451487/Spain-cocaine-Ecuador-banana.html

http://www.fsb.ru/fsb/press/message/single.htm%21id%3D10439686%40fsbMessage.html

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-67964229

https://www.ft.com/content/0bcff64a-4a16-49e4-87dc-03295e40b63d

https://apnews.com/article/ecuador-kidnapping-british-businessman-former-consul-ba9c148f10b39071375250119b6c1710

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/02/ecuador-violence-deadly-attacks-gangs-cartels

https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/latin-america/mutilated-bodies-gang-wars-shock-once-peaceful-ecuador.phtml

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/01/13/ecuador-violence-galapagos-cocaine/

https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/seguridad/gobierno-declaracion-excepcion-carceles-ecuador.html

https://elpais.com/internacional/2023-03-01/419-muertos-y-cero-responsables-dos-anos-de-la-oleada-de-masacres-carcelarias-en-ecuador.html

https://insightcrime.org/ecuador-organized-crime-news/lobos-ecuador/

https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2020/12/07/nota/8075287/dos-bandas-relacionadas-choneros-lagartos-pelea-carcel-esmeraldas/

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/fito-cartel-leader-ecuador-violence-b2476638.html

https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20240111-what-we-know-about-fito-ecuador-s-notorious-gang-leader-who-escaped-jail

https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2020/07/04/nota/7894974/guerra-bandas-guayaquil-pierde-protagonistas-hasta-covid-19/

https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2019/06/12/nota/7374450/quien-era-alias-cubano/

https://insightcrime.org/es/noticias-crimen-organizado-ecuador/los-lagartos/

https://insightcrime.org/news/brief/homicides-ecuador-prisons/

https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7m8a8/gang-war-causes-brutal-prison-riots-across-ecuador-leaving-79-dead

https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2020/12/28/nota/9045034/persona-herida-bala-interior-centro-comercial-manta/

https://www.primicias.ec/noticias/sociedad/macabro-mensaje-muerte-rasquina/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-67930452

https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-01-11/tv-studio-hostages-recall-terror-of-on-air-attack-it-is-very-easy-to-kill-journalists-in-ecuador-too-easy.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12948857/Gangsters-stormed-Ecuadorian-TV-station-guns-grenades-taking-journalists-hostage-humbled-detained-police.html

'The King is dead, long live the King!'

In September 2023, Ovidio Guzmán López, the son of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán, stood in a courtroom as a series of charges were laid out, including his alleged role as a leader of the Sinaloa Cartel.

There is a long list of cartel and organized crime leaders over the past few decades who have been targeted through what become known as the 'Kingpin Strategy'. The strategy aims to weaken, destabilise, and destroy criminal groups through a variety of methods, but is not without critics.

In this episode of Deep Dive: Monitoring, we look at the arrest of Ovidio, the history and impact of the Kingpin Strategy, how organized crime responds to a prominent criminal leader being removed, the so-called "Narco-Culture" that surrounds criminal actors, and the impact it has on the communities bearing the greatest impact of these criminal groups.

Speaker:

Siria Gastelum Felix, the Director of Resilience, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime - Link

GITOC:

OC Index - Mexico

OC Index - Colombia

Clan del Golfo: The fall of 'Otoniel' - How Colombia's biggest drug lord was taken down.

Mexico’s war with itself? ¿La guerra de México consigo mismo?

Additional Reading:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cmlj7cFHlsA

https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/criminal-prosecution-drug-traffickers-under-continuing-criminal

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-66853111

https://insightcrime.org/colombia-organized-crime-news/oficina-de-envigado-profile/

https://insightcrime.org/colombia-organized-crime-news/auc-profile/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-66784678

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/20/colombias-coca-crops-grew-to-historic-levels-last-year-un

https://museum.dea.gov/video-archive/kingpin-strategy-did-it-work

https://justiceinmexico.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/OCVM-21.pdf

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/VC.IHR.PSRC.P5?locations=CO&most_recent_value_desc=true

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-foreign-policies-of-the-sinaloa-cartel-and-cjng-part-i-in-the-americas/

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-foreign-policies-of-the-sinaloa-cartel-and-cjng-part-v-europes-supercoke-and-on-the-horizon-issues-and-the-middle-east/

https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-64186716

https://insightcrime.org/news/failed-kingpin-strategy-heart-us-mexico-security/

https://museum.dea.gov/video-archive/disrupt-kingpin-strategy

https://insightcrime.org/news/analysis/mexican-state-bans-narco-music/

https://insightcrime.org/news/brief/narcocorrido-ban-sinaloa-state-lifted/

https://insightcrime.org/news/analysis/narco-culture-and-mexico-s-drug-gangs/

https://www.gao.gov/assets/ggd-99-108.pdf

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-41804243

https://www.latimes.com/la-fg-narco-glossary28-2009oct28-story.html

https://shoc.rusi.org/blog/the-kingpin-strategy-more-violence-no-peace/

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/watch-live-u-s-mexico-to-announce-new-plans-on-cartels

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-64337404

https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/mexicos-long-war-drugs-crime-and-cartels

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/31/mexico-president-peace-agreement-cartels

https://dataunodc.un.org/dp-intentional-homicide-victims

https://apnews.com/article/mexico-missing-disappearances-united-nations-147b08e445c715fe0ee487a5b0787288

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1281640/mexico-number-persons-reported-missing/

https://www.milenio.com/espectaculos/musica/soy-el-raton-narco-corrido-ovidio-guzman-origen-cancion-codigo-fn

Website:

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

The Global Organized Crime index

“If you can do it without consequences, then you should do it”.

What are illicit Financial Flows, or IFFs? And why do they matter?

Every illicit market, from drug trafficking, people smuggling, the illegal wildlife trade, arms trafficking etc. all are connected to IFFs. IFFs are about the movement of money across borders that is illegal in some way.

The money could be from a criminal act, like corruption or its money associated with the illicit markets above. Perhaps, it could be legitimately earned money that is transferred in a way that evades taxation, like being paid in cash and not declaring it or money is funnelled into complex corporate schemes and secrecy jurisdictions. Or perhaps its ultimate use is something like terrorist financing or funding organised criminal activity.

Dirty money is a global problem, according to the IMF, it makes up between 2-5% (up to $5.25 trillion dollars) of global GDP.

Given the scale of the problem, in this episode we will focus in on the Western Balkans in South-Eastern Europe through three IFFs - money laundering investigations in Kosovo, corruption and the role of the private sector in Albania, and tax evasion in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Speaker(s):

Dardan Kocani, Field Coordinator for Kosovo for the South Eastern Europe Observatory at the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

Sokol Toska, Legal Auditor in Albania and expert in money laundering and illicit financial flows.

Anesa Agovich, Field Coordinator for Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Links:

Illicit financial flows in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia: Key drivers and current trends

Illicit Financial Flows in Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia: Key drivers and current trends

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Global Organized Crime Index

Research Links:

 https://www.europol.europa.eu/cms/sites/default/files/documents/europol-review-2016.pdf

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-the-105-trillion-world-economy-in-one-chart/

https://www.ibe.org.uk/resource/tax-avoidance-as-an-ethical-issue-for-business.html

https://www.transparency.org/en/corruptionary/tax-evasion

https://albaniandailynews.com/news/wanted-for-incinerators-affair-stela-gugallja-detained-in-austria

https://top-channel.tv/english/former-minister-is-sentenced-to-5-8-years-in-prison-for-corruption-with-the-incinerators-his-second-is-found-innocent/

https://telegraf.al/i-pakategorizuar/boset-e-inceneratoreve-denohen-per-here-te-dyte-ne-arrati-policia-dhe-spak-nuk-arrijne-dot-te-zoto-mertiri-e-gugallja/

https://www.eu-ocs.com/albania-seizes-waste-disposal-facility-amid-fraud-allegations/

https://balkaninsight.com/2022/01/06/short-circuit-the-stunning-simplicity-of-top-level-corruption-in-albania/

https://balkaninsight.com/2023/07/10/albania-prosecutors-seek-former-deputy-pm-arben-ahmetajs-arrest/

https://balkaninsight.com/2020/09/28/the-incinerator-how-a-politically-connected-albanian-built-an-empire-on-waste/

https://balkaninsight.com/2023/09/25/albania-former-minister-sentenced-for-corruption/

https://balkaninsight.com/2023/08/01/albania-seizes-tirana-waste-disposal-company-over-alleged-fraud/

https://www.cna.al/english/aktualitet/mirel-mertiri-bosi-real-i-inceneratorit-elbasan-mesazhet-e-plota-qe-b-i362014

https://albaniandailynews.com/news/spak-asks-meta-to-find-out-location-of-former-minister-ahmetaj

https://www.voxnews.al/english/investigim/dosja-buka-arben-ahmetaj-doli-mbi-vendimin-e-formes-se-prere-te-gjyka-i50069

http://www.panorama.com.al/privatizimi-i-fabrikes-spak-kemi-prova-demi-1-5-milione-euro-ahmetaj-nxjerr-dokumentet-e-bejne-per-presion-duan-te-me-mbyllin-gojen/

https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/albanian-government-to-continue-concession-with-companies-implicated-in-financial-crime/

https://www.transparency.org/en/projects/cases-project/data/public-private-partnership-for-waste-incinerators

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7f6aa0ed915d74e33f64bf/20160607_Handbook_for_the_Concession_Contracts_Regulations_2016_final.pdf

https://www.transparency.org/en/projects/cases-project/data/public-private-partnership-for-waste-incinerators

https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/public-procurement/legal-rules-and-implementation/concession-contracts_en

https://egmontgroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2021-Financial.Analysis.Cases_.2014-2020-3.pdf

https://egmontgroup.org/

https://www.coe.int/en/web/corruption/-/financial-intelligence-unit-of-kosovo-attends-the-24th-egmont-group-plenary-meeting

https://egmontgroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2021-Financial.Analysis.Cases_.2014-2020-3.pdf

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07nkd84/episodes/downloads

https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/ruja-ignatova/@@download.pdf

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-50435014

https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2022

https://www.businessinsider.com/fbi-russian-oligarch-roman-abramovich-shell-companies-luxury-jets-2022-6?r=US&IR=T

https://www.icij.org/investigations/pandora-papers/oligarchs-jets-yachts-luxury/

https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/02/02/pandora-papers-reveal-1600-works-of-art-in-tax-havens

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-51299018

https://www.redflagalert.com/articles/risk/a-guide-to-shell-companies

https://www.icij.org/investigations/fincen-files/

https://www.icij.org/investigations/paradise-papers/

https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/

https://complyadvantage.com/insights/structuring-vs-smurfing/

https://www.acamstoday.org/from-smurfs-to-mules-21st-century-money-laundering/

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/smurf.asp

https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/money-laundering-cash-couriers-smuggled-100-million-in-suitcases

https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Money_Laundering_and_Illicit_Financial_F.html?id=gkiCzQEACAAJ&redir_esc=y

https://oxfordre.com/criminology/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264079.001.0001/acrefore-9780190264079-e-708;jsessionid=ADF024BF24F76DA5720F4017B035E029

https://financialcrimeacademy.org/the-history-of-money-laundering-2/

In September 2023, there were four large cocaine seizures in and around the Atlantic Ocean - off the coast of Ireland, West Africa, Brazil, and Cape Verde.

The flows of cocaine that traverse the Atlantic travel mainly by sea, from the huge bulk carriers to small fishing vessels or sailing boats. Much of this illicit drug ends in the cocaine markets of Europe.

In this episode of Deep Dive: Monitoring, we briefly take a look at the seizures, what they mean for cocaine markets and the organized criminal networks involved. And do drug seizures make a dent in this multi-billion dollar industry?

Speaker:

Jason Eligh, Senior Expert, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime and Thematic Lead of the GI-TOC's Global Drug Program - Link

Papers:

The cocaine pipeline to Europe

Atlantic connections: The PCC and the Brazil-West Africa cocaine trade

West Africa's Cocaine Corridor: Building a subregional response

Cocaine politics in West Africa: Guinea-Bissau's protection networks

A powder storm: The cocaine markets of East and southern Africa

Additional Reading:

https://www.donegaldaily.com/2023/10/03/gardai-believe-e157m-drugs-gang-tried-to-buy-boat-in-killybegs/

https://www.sundayworld.com/crime/cocaine-bust-trawler-remains-wedged-on-sandbank-off-wexford-coast/a295844397.html

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster/arid-41235682.html

https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:5058595/mmsi:250004351/imo:0/vessel:CASTLEMORE

https://afloat.ie/safety/marine-warning/item/26428-marine-notice-aim-requirements-for-seagoing-passenger-ships

https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/2023/09/28/us-sanctions-colombian-cartel-leader-linked-to-157m-irish-cocaine-haul/

https://www.policia.es/_es/comunicacion_prensa_detalle.php?ID=15905

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazils-navy-seizes-record-36-tonnes-cocaine-2023-09-20/

https://maoc.eu/joint-operation-between-the-brazilian-federal-police-and-the-brazilian-navy-seizes-3-6-tonnes-of-cocaine-in-the-atlantic/

https://www.premar-atlantique.gouv.fr/communiques-presse/la-fregate-de-surveillance-fs-ventose-saisit-2-4-tonnes-de-cocaine-au-large-des-cotes-africaines

https://maoc.eu/maoc-n-supports-french-seizure-of-2-4-tonnes-off-the-coast-of-west-africa/

https://maoc.eu/maoc-n-supports-irish-operation-off-the-cork-coast-2253-kg-of-cocaine-seized/

https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:711870/mmsi:356182000/imo:9228150/vessel:MATTHEW

https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/2023/09/29/irelands-biggest-cocaine-haul-how-the-plan-ran-aground/

https://www.icontainers.com/us/2016/11/11/friday-fun-fact-3-only-2-to-10-of-containers-are-inspected/

https://www.identecsolutions.com/news/drug-trafficking-container-terminal-safety

Website:

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

The Global Organized Crime index

Scam call centres are a blight on the lives of anyone unfortunate enough to have any dealings with them. They come to you with promises of a short cut to wealth, to fix a non-existent issue with your computer, claiming to be from a charity, threatening you with arrest for unpaid taxes.

There are 70 million of these phone calls worldwide every day and they generate billions of dollars each year. Organized crime is very much a part of this industry from Mexico to India and from the Philippines to Ukraine.

In this episode we delve into the hundreds, possibly thousands of scam call centres based in Ukraine, where investment scams are mainly targeting Russians.

Links:

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

PORT IN A STORM: Organized crime in Odesa since the Russian invasion

New front lines: Organized criminal economies in Ukraine in 2022

Global Organized Crime Index

Additional Reading:  

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/katie-investigates/father-attempted-suicide-crypto-fraudsters-tricked-144k/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-36108762

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-22/ukraine-s-economy-grows-year-on-year-first-time-since-war-began

https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2023/03/30/western-lenders-may-regret-forcing-ukraine-to-turn-to-the-imf

https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/latvia-and-lithuania-detain-108-over-multi-million-euro-call-centre-scam

https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20100609/midtown-west-hells-kitchen/fbi-raids-suspected-mafia-boiler-rooms-midtown/

https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6928696

https://www.occrp.org/en/fraud-factory/trail-of-broken-lives-leads-to-kyiv-call-center

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-65038949

https://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/fraudfactory/

https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/bulgarian-authorities-take-down-online-investment-scam-responsible-for-losses-of-more-eur-10-million

https://www.epravda.com.ua/publications/2023/03/24/698383/

https://twitter.com/i/status/1606340479196479488

https://www.businessinsider.com/russians-scammed-torching-kremlin-offices-cars-2023-4?r=US&IR=T

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66440752

https://t.me/mashmoyka/11725

https://www.businessinsider.com/russians-scammed-torching-kremlin-offices-cars-2023-4?r=US&IR=T

https://t.me/url_mash/4742

https://www.businessinsider.com/russians-scammed-torching-kremlin-offices-cars-2023-4?r=US&IR=T

https://www.interfax-russia.ru/moscow/main/fsb-preduprezhdaet-moskvichey-o-moshennikah-sklonyayushchih-k-perevodu-deneg-i-podzhogam

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66440752

https://t.me/rabota_vakansii_dnepr0/10

https://lawrange.net/en/services/lawyer-for-fraud-in-ukraine-under-article-190-of-the-criminal-code-of-ukraine/

https://ruscrime.com/breaking-through-potential-victims-conversation-scenarios-and-tricks-of-telephone-crooks-from-ukrainian-call-centers/

https://crime-ua.com/node/30638

https://en.fromheartua.charity/ua/stats

https://incident.obozrevatel.com/crime/organizator-narkosindikata-pri-podderzhke-fsb-razvernulsya-v-ukraine-on-v-rozyiske-no-rulit-iz-za-granitsyi.htm

https://censor.net/ru/news/3434694/sluga_naroda_seminskiyi_otritsaet_prichastnost_k_rossiyiskomu_kolltsentru_posle_obvineniyi_tischenko

https://lb.ua/news/2023/08/01/568007_tishchenko_zayaviv_pro_vikrittya.html

https://denzadnem.com.ua/aktualno/139009

https://incident.obozrevatel.com/crime/organizator-narkosindikata-pri-podderzhke-fsb-razvernulsya-v-ukraine-on-v-rozyiske-no-rulit-iz-za-granitsyi.htm

https://antikor.com.ua/ru/articles/650654-rossijskij_narkobaron_meksikanets_podminaet_pod_sebja_rynok_moshennicheskih_kol-tsentrov

https://regionews.ua/rus/news/ukraine/1693672865-tayny-meksikanskogo-ekspressa-smi-rasskazali-zachem-egor-levchenko-na-samom-dele-lovit-baryg

https://antikor.com.ua/ru/articles/650654-rossijskij_narkobaron_meksikanets_podminaet_pod_sebja_rynok_moshennicheskih_kol-tsentrov

https://incident.obozrevatel.com/crime/organizator-narkosindikata-pri-podderzhke-fsb-razvernulsya-v-ukraine-on-v-rozyiske-no-rulit-iz-za-granitsyi.htm

https://lb.ua/news/2023/08/01/568007_tishchenko_zayaviv_pro_vikrittya.html

https://regionews.ua/rus/news/ukraine/1693672865-tayny-meksikanskogo-ekspressa-smi-rasskazali-zachem-egor-levchenko-na-samom-dele-lovit-baryg

https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/17182-spanish-police-arrest-key-figure-in-scam-brokerage-linked-to-fraud-factory-investigation

https://www.pravda.com.ua/rus/news/2023/08/21/7416432/

https://gp.gov.ua/ua/posts/na-dnipropetrovshhini-vikrito-diyalnist-saxraiskix-sall-centriv-yaki-osukali-gromadyan-derzav-jevropeiskogo-soyuzu

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/The-Big-Story/Cyber-slavery-inside-Cambodia-s-online-scam-gangs

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/06/07/mexican-drug-cartel-eight-dead-scam-call-centre/

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/02/world/americas/remains-mexico-call-center.html

https://ruscrime.com/breaking-through-potential-victims-conversation-scenarios-and-tricks-of-telephone-crooks-from-ukrainian-call-centers/

https://www-cyberpolice-gov-ua.translate.goog/news/kiberpoliczejski-prypynyly-diyalnist-shaxrajskyx-sall-czentriv-u-trox-oblastyax-ukrayiny-3573/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en

https://cybernews.com/news/ukraine-police-bust-digital-fraud/

https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/ukraine-cracks-down-on-investment-scams-raids-call-centers-a-22386

https://cyberpolice.gov.ua/news/kiberpolicziya-kyyeva-vykryla-sxemu-psevdoinvestuvannya-organizatory-yakoyi-pryvlasnyly-ponad--mln-grn-7606/

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ukrainian-police-bust-phishing/

https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/ukrainian-police-disrupt-cryptocurrency-scam-aimed-at-canada-a-22341

https://www.hiya.com/global-call-threat-report

https://www.truecaller.com/blog/insights/us-spam-scam-report-21

https://t.me/joker_ukr/8398

https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252525373/Most-hackers-exfiltrate-data-within-five-hours-of-gaining-access

https://hyperms.com/the-new-generation-of-gsm-gateway-sim-bank/

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-news/man-arrested-for-illegally-procuring-and-selling-22-000-sim-cards-to-cyber-criminals-in-india-delhi-police-busts-pan-india-scam-101681928317089.html

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2271839/illegal-sim-cards-integral-to-scams

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga/pr/multiple-india-based-call-centers-and-their-directors-indicted-perpetuating-phone-scams

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-65038949

https://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/fraudfactory/

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-16/china-crackdown-scam-epidemic-australia/102850120

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2023/apr/02/i-couldnt-escape-the-people-trafficked-into-call-centres-and-forced-to-scam-australians

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-china-watcher/2022/08/25/the-china-scam-calls-just-wont-die-00052537

https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/17030-cross-border-cybercrime-raid-nabs-scam-call-centers-exposed-by-occrp

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/over-200-spike-in-fake-friend-call-scam-reports-in-2022-victims-lost-88-million

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2023/apr/02/i-couldnt-escape-the-people-trafficked-into-call-centres-and-forced-to-scam-australians

https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-05-30/marijuana-blood-and-phone-scams-new-clues-in-the-case-of-seven-workers-who-disappeared-from-a-mexican-call-center.html

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-36108762

https://www.pymnts.com/news/security-and-risk/2022/italian-and-albanian-authorities-break-up-crypto-scam-ring/

https://www.firstpost.com/tech/news-analysis/indian-scam-call-centres-looted-over-10-billion-in-11-months-from-us-senior-citizens-this-year-11896001.html

For over half a century armed groups in Colombia have battled one another and the state across the country. The FARC, ELN, AUC, AGC, and the infamous drug cartels, have committed untold atrocities on everyday Colombians. These groups use violence to control the local population and to assert territorial control over illicit drug production and trafficking routes.

This episode is about the people who live in those areas, those that have suffered at the hands of armed groups and organized crime, and those who put themselves at risk to fight for a better future for their communities.

Speaker(s):

Felipe Botero Escobar, Head of Colombia Programmes, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

Joshua Mitrotti - Director of Somos Comunidad (Resilience Community). Somos Comunidad is backed by USAID, and implemented by FUPAD Colombia and the PADF, who work alongside GI-TOC. Through a series initiatives in rural communities affected by violence, Somos Comunidad is trying to enhance community resilience and contribute to human security.

Community Leaders – Yolima, Yenis, Nancy, Luz, Luis

Initiative Beneficiaries – Jamileth, Dana, Dayanis, Nicole, Sofia

Links:

Somos Comunidad

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

PADF

Research Links:

https://www.eluniversal.com.co/sucesos/masacre-en-el-carmen-de-bolivar-mi-hijo-era-un-nino-venia-de-la-tienda-NF3447834

https://aldianews.com/en/culture/destinations/worlds-first-soda-pop

https://www.semana.com/nacion/cartagena/articulo/golpe-a-la-delincuencia-caen-13-presuntos-integrantes-de-la-subestructura-heroes-del-caribe/202204/

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/former-leader-violent-clan-del-golfo-drug-trafficking-organization-pleads-guilty

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/VC.IHR.PSRC.P5?locations=CO

https://colombiareports.com/assassinations-driving-increase-in-colombias-homicides-report/

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/771130/The_mental_health_needs_of_gang-affiliated_young_people_v3_23_01_1.pdf

https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-05-27/the-forced-recruitment-of-child-soldiers-in-colombia-families-are-uprooted-isolated-and-threatened.html

https://www.savethechildren.net/blog/child-recruitment-colombia-fear-river

https://insightcrime.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Estudio-de-caracterizacion-de-ninez-desvinculada-de-grupos-armados-organizados-al-margen-de-la-ley-2013-2022-1.pdf

https://www.rcnradio.com/colombia/antioquia/cerca-de-500-indigenas-en-riesgo-de-desplazamiento-por-combates-en-caceres

https://colombiareports.com/colombias-front-lines-drug-war-cauca/

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Another-Murder-in-Cauca-137-Social-Leaders-Killed-in-2022-20221007-0018.html

https://participedia.net/case/5661

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2019/12/23/on-patrol-with-the-indigenous-guards-of-colombia

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/23/colombian-activist-killings-hit-record-high-in-2022-ombudsman#:~:text=Carlos%20Camargo%20said%20in%20a,2021%20and%20182%20in%202020.

https://www.wradio.com.co/2023/07/11/precandidato-a-la-alcaldia-de-santa-ana-magdalena-atacado-a-piedras/

https://marketresearchtelecast.com/the-murder-of-three-people-in-southwestern-colombia-brings-the-number-of-massacres-so-far-this-year-to-54/107196/

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/30/world/americas/colombia-february-christmas-quinamayo.html

Disclaimer: Somos Comunidad is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The content of this episode is the responsibility of GI-TOC, and does not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

For around two years the Conti ransomware group rampaged across the internet. They attacked hospitals, educational institutions, businesses, governments, and many more, raking in hundreds of millions of dollars in ransomware payments.

Business was booming for the cybercriminals. At least it was until the Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Conti leadership quickly pledged their loyalty to Russia and then everything began to fall apart.

This is the story of one of the most professional, prolific, and devastating organized cybercriminal groups in history.

Speaker(s):

Selena Larson – Senior Threat Intelligence Analyst and DISCARDED Podcast Co-host at Proofpoint - Twitter

Berk Albayrak, Threat Intelligence Analyst within the PRODAFT Threat Intelligence team and expert on Wizard Spider - Twitter

Conor Gallagher – Crime and Security Correspondent of the Irish Times - Twitter

Allan Liska, Threat Intelligence Analyst at Recorded Future and author of Ransomware: Understand. Precent. Recover. - Twitter

Juan Ignacio Nicolossi, the team leader for the Threat Intelligence Team at PRODAFT.

Zoë Brammer, Cyber & Information Operations Associate at the Institute for Security and Technology - Ransomware Ecosystem Map

Jake Moore, Global Cybersecurity Advisor for ESET.

Artwork by Paulina Rosol-Barrass

Additional Reading:

Reports/Papers:

PRODAFT - Conti Ransomware Group In-Depth Analysis

PRODAFT - Wizard Spider In-Depth Analysis

Google - Fog of War: How the Ukraine Conflict Transformed the Cyber Threat Landscape

DISCARDED Podcast (Proofpoint) - Defending Against Cyber Criminals: Emotet’s Resurrection & Conti’s Implosion - April 12 2022

pwc - Conti cyber attack on the HSE: Independent Post Incident Review

CNN - ‘I can fight with a keyboard’: How one Ukrainian IT specialist exposed a notorious Russian ransomware gang

Proofpoint - The Human Factor Report 2022 - Threat Report

Ransomware Task Force (Institute for Security and Technology - Blueprint for Ransomware Defense

Ransomware Task Force (Institute for Security and Technology - Combating Ransomware

Ransomware Task Force (Institute for Security and Technology - MAPPING THE RANSOMWARE PAYMENT ECOSYSTEM - Video: Mapping the Ransomware Payment Ecosystem & Opportunities for Friction

Ransomware Task Force (Institute for Security and Technology - MAPPING THREAT ACTOR BEHAVIOR IN THE RANSOMWARE PAYMENT ECOSYSTEM: A MINI-PILOT

Ransomware Task Force (Institute for Security and Technology - GAINING GROUND

Book - Ransomware: Understand. Precent. Recover.

Recorded Future - The Business of Fraud: Botnet Malware Dissemination

Recorded Future - Russia’s War Against Ukraine Disrupts the Cybercriminal Ecosystem

Sophos 2023 Threat Report

Sophos - The State of Ransomware 2023

Europol - Wasabi Wallet Report

Wasabi - CoinJoin Legal Concern

vmware - Emotet Exposed: A Look Inside the Cybercriminal Supply Chain

Krebs on Security - Conti Ransomware Group Diaries

Elliptic - Conti Leaks Investigation - The $19m in DAI found in an account linked to Conti Member ‘Target

The Chainalysis 2022 Crypto Crime Report

The Chainalysis 2023 Crypto Crime Report

AdvIntel - DisCONTInued: The End of Conti’s Brand Marks NewChapter For Cybercrime Landscape

FinCEN - Ransomware Trends in Bank Secrecy Act Data Between January 2021 and June 2021

FinCEN - Advisory on Ransomware and the Use of the Financial System to Facilitate Ransom Payments

(Forescout) Vedere Labs - Analysis of Conti Leaks

FATF - Professional Money Laundering

FATF - Targeted update on implementation of the FATF standards on virtual assets and virtual asset service providers

accenture - Global Incident Report: Threat Actors Divide Along Ideological Lines over the Russia-Ukraine Conflict on Underground...