OC24 Podcast

Underworlds with Mark Shaw is returning for another season.

Mark sits down with authors to discuss their investigations into the murky world of organized crime.

In season two, we hear about a range of stories such as money laundering and cryptocurrency; the 'Ndrangheta's expansion from Calabria, Italy to other countries of Europe.

Also the story of a leading South African police officer, who was tasked with investigating the Italian mafia in South Africa by Nelson Mandela.

A fascinating story about one of the largest frauds in the history of the maritime industry. The growth and evolution of ransomware market, and finally a history of modern Russia told through the stories of four very different criminals.

The series is hosted by Mark Shaw, the Director of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. Mark is also an author of a number of books on organized crime in South Africa.

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📱 Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@UCP-lqJdhM-9iDKkswuVcXZA

🌎 VISIT US! Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime - https://globalinitiative.net/

🎧WHY NOT TRY OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

🎧Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0spSX0QUq7j0NmIZOqyDTZQ

🎧The Index - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0uc_4CftGl8PrwHA3IK5WeI

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This session will explore how armed groups in West and Central Africa draw revenue, resources, and legitimacy through their engagement with (il)licit economies. As greater focus in research to date has been given to the question of armed group financing, this session will instead focus on the how armed groups build, or degrade, legitimacy in their interactions with illicit economies. It will consider how the characteristics of different illicit economies - including artisanal gold mining, kidnapping, and logging - shape armed groups' relationship with communities.

Lucia Bird, Director of the West Africa Observatory, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Mouhamadou Kane, Analyst, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

Dr. Ladd Serwat, Africa Regional Specialist, Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED)

Lawan Adamu, Northern Nigeria field coordinator for the West Africa Observatory at the GI-TOC

In this discussion, the panellists discuss organized corruption in Asia and the Pacific.

Louise Taylor, Director - Observatory of Illicit Economies in Asia and the Pacific, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

Cynthia Gabriel, Centre to Combat Corruption & Cronyism (C4)

Grant Walton, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University. Associate Professor Grant Walton is a leading expert on corruption and anti-corruption efforts in the Pacific Islands region, with most of his research focusing on Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.

Joseph Pozsgai-Alvarez, Osaka University - Japan Network of Anti-Corruption Researchers.

This book aims to highlight the causes why the Prohibition Era led to an evolution of the New York mob from a rural, ethnic and small-scale to an urban, American and wide-scale crime. The temperance project, advocated by the WASP elite since the early nineteenth century, turned into prohibition only after the end of WWI with the enactment of the Eighteenth Amendment. By considering the success that war prohibition made to the soldiers' psychophysical condition, Congress aimed to shift this political move even to civil society. So it was that the Italian, Irish and Jewish mobs took the chance to spread their bribe system to local politics due to the lucrative alcohol bootlegging. New York became the core of the national anti-prohibition, where the smuggling from Canada and Europe merged into the legendary Manhattan nightclubs and speakeasies. With the coming of the Great Depression, the Republican Party was aware about the failure of this political measure, leading to the making of a new corporate underworld. The book is addressed to historians of New York, historians of crime and historians of modern America as well as to an audience of readers interested in the history of the Prohibition Era.

Francesco Landolfi, University of Milan

Stefano Morello, City University of New York

The discussion focuses on the intricate history of organized crime in New York City during the Prohibition era of the 1920s, particularly emphasizing the emergence of the American Mafia. The speaker elucidates the evolution of organized crime, dividing the decade into three distinct phases: the initial opposition to Prohibition, the consolidation of Italian-American mafia power, and the subsequent turmoil leading into the Great Depression. The speaker elaborates on the socio-political environment that fostered the rise of various criminal enterprises, highlighting the interplay between ethnic gangs—Irish, Italian, and Jewish—that capitalized on the lucrative illicit alcohol trade. The narrative further underscores how these groups navigated the complex landscape of law enforcement, corruption, and community dynamics, ultimately shaping the trajectory of organized crime in New York City and beyond.

The evolution of cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies continues to transform organised crime, cybercrime, and financial crime. This panel brings together researchers exploring emerging trends in cryptocurrency and financial crimes. Key topics in presentations will include: the emerging illicit and grey economies on digital platforms, opportunities for cryptocurrency financial crime in virtual reality and ‘metaverse’ environments, the use of cryptocurrency in ‘pig-butchering’ scam operations, and cryptocurrency use in transnational crime syndicates operating between China and Southeast Asia. In these discussions the panel aims to illuminate new trends and dynamics between cryptocurrency and financial crime to offer insights into future challenges and potential regulatory responses.

Leo S.F. Lin,Senior Lecturer, Charles Sturt University, Australia. Reseraching cybercrime, organised crime, human trafficking and policing

Hai Thanh Luong, Griffith University / Institute for Asian Crime and Security. Transnational Crimes (focusing on drug trafficking, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, and wildlife trafficking), cyber criminology (focus on human factors in cybercrime), and policing.

Dr Andrew Childs, Lecturer, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University

Dr. Andrew Childs is a Lecturer in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. He explores emerging technologies and cybercrime communities.

Dr Milind Tiwari, Charles Sturt University. A certified fraud examiner and anti-money laundering specialist with a keen interest in uncovering the diverse mechanisms used to facilitate money laundering.

Takeaways:

• The advent of cryptocurrencies has introduced new dimensions to organized crime, particularly in the realms of fraud and money laundering.
• Cryptocurrency's anonymity and lack of regulation are attractive features for criminals seeking to exploit financial systems.
• Emerging digital technologies, including the Metaverse, present unique challenges for law enforcement in combating financial crimes.
• The evolution of online scams, such as 'pig butchering', demonstrates the increasingly sophisticated methods employed by perpetrators in cryptocurrency crimes.

Indonesia, straddling Southeast Asia and Oceania along the equator, is the world’s largest archipelagic state with roughly 17,500 islands. Its status as an archipelago was formalized by the 1957 Djuanda Declaration and later affirmed in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which sets out nations’ maritime rights and responsibilities. This extensive maritime domain gives Indonesia abundant fisheries resources but also creates a vast, porous seascape where illegal activities—ranging from unregulated fishing to human trafficking, drug smuggling, and weapons trade—flourish. In 2019, transnational crimes accounted for about 16 percent of all reported offenses, underscoring the complex security challenges posed by the nation’s strategic location.

To combat these threats, Indonesia has built a layered legal framework that includes historic statutes such as the 1939 Territorial Sea and Maritime Environment Act, the 1983 EEZ law, and more recent measures like the 2009 amendment to the Fisheries Act and the 2014 Maritime Affairs Act. Internationally, the country has ratified the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (via Law No. 5/2009), recognizing the intertwined nature of fisheries violations with broader illicit networks. The current focus is on strengthening law‑enforcement capacity, enhancing border controls, prosecuting perpetrators, and fostering regional cooperation to curb illegal fishing, human trafficking, and related transnational crimes.

Nukila Evanty speaks on “Complexity of Response to Slavery Crimes in the Fisheries Industry in Indonesia”.

Rina Shahriyani Shahrullah discusses “Illegal Fishing in the Ranai Natuna Waters" ContemporaryIssue in Indonesia's Exclusive Economic Zone”

Ninne Zahara Silviani addresses “Smuggling of Migrants towards sea routes in Riau Islands”

Cynthia Putri Guswandi serves as a moderator for the session.

The role of technology in combating organized crime emerges as a central theme in our webinar discussion, featuring six esteemed speakers who contribute diverse perspectives on this critical issue. We delve into how advancements in technology are reshaping strategies against various forms of organized crime, particularly focusing on illicit weapons and human trafficking. The presentations highlight significant research findings, including the implications of 3D printed weapons and the methodologies employed in studying human trafficking dynamics. Engaging dialogue among the speakers and audience underscores the complexities of addressing these challenges, while also emphasizing the need for collaboration across disciplines. As we explore the intersection of technology and criminology, we aim to foster a deeper understanding of the evolving landscape of organized crime and the tools necessary to combat it effectively.

André Duffles Teixeira Aranega, Researcher and Consultant | Transparency International - Brazil

Veronika Nagy, Assistant Professor at the Willem Pompe Institute in Utrecht.

Helidth Ravenholm, Consulting anthropologist and independent researcher

Carlotta Carbone, Transcrime - Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

Despoina Chatzakou, Center for Research and Technology Hellas. Postdoctoral researcher specialising in AI for text and graph data analysis, with a particular focus on security applications. Participation in several European Security & ICT research projects.

Theoni Spathi, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas

The panel entitled "Gangs: Insights from India, Colombia, and Jamaica" presents a comprehensive exploration of gang dynamics across these three diverse contexts. The discourse initiates with Sangeeta Roy, who delves into the ethno migrant masculinities of Bihari youth in India, elucidating how they navigate their identities amidst societal stigmas and educational barriers. Subsequent presentations by Alina Budi and Tariq Weeks further illuminate the complexities of gang involvement, emphasizing the precarious nature of adolescent participation in criminal enterprises in Colombia and Jamaica, respectively. Each speaker contributes unique insights into the socio-economic conditions that foster gang affiliation and the implications for community resilience and youth development. The synthesis of these perspectives underscores the urgent need for a nuanced understanding of gang dynamics to inform effective interventions and policy responses.

John Collins, Director of Academic Engagement at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.

Sangeeta Roy, PhD Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India. Roy's doctoral research focussing on ethno-migrant masculinities among school-going ‘Bihari’ youth in Kolkata, India, gives her critical insight on the construction of young people in Crime.

Elena Butti, Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding Graduate Institute Geneva. Urban anthropology, humanitarian practitioner and participatory film-maker expert on youth, gangs, and organized crime in Latin America. PhD University of Oxford (2019).

Tarik Weekes, Research Fellow, Centre for Criminal Justice and Security. University of the West Indies.

This panel will discuss the results of a research lead by Fundación Ideas para la Paz that highlights several challenges in the so called “Urban Peace Negotiations” with organized crime in Medellín, the second largest and prosperous city in Colombia. Colombia’s National Government is trying to implement a negotiation policy with different kind of actors, including conventional actors of armed conflicts as well as organized crime in three cities. We will talk about evolution of lethal violence in Medellín (since Pablo Escobar), how it shaped problematic issues regarding criminal governance nowadays and necessary legal and constitutional framework to move forward in the “Urban Peace Negotiations” mentioned.

Speakers

Felipe Botero, Coordinator for Colombia, GI-TOC. He has extensive academic and professional experience in peace building, DDR, Human Rights, citizen security, and civic participation.

Gina Cabarcas Maciá, Director, Laboratorio de Justicia. Expert in transitional justice and investigation of international crimes.

Juanita Durán, Laboratorio de Justicia y Política Criminal

Andrés Preciado, Ideas for Peace Foundation

Alessandro Moretti’s ‘The Rise and Rise of Illegal Ticket Touting’ is a criminological ethnography of the black market in buying and selling tickets to live events and is the first criminological study in the United Kingdom to explore ticket touts. The opening chapter acts as a position statement for the entire book. Moretti delivers a detailed socio-legal analysis of debates surrounding touting and the largely botched regulatory responses to this apparent cancer to the world of live events. In doing so, Moretti begins to meticulously unpack the corruption and negligence which allows the illicit marketplace for tickets to thrive, arguing that the continuing rise of illegal touting is the direct result of ‘a wilful neglect and tacit condoning of the system’s loopholes’ (p. 2) by actors who would have the power to disrupt touting should they ever want to. Moretti builds on this searing criticism of the live events industry throughout the book, and he pulls no punches in highlighting the hypocrisy which lies at the heart of the moral handwringing concerning ticket touting.

Xavier L’Hoiry, University of Sheffield. A researcher with over 15 years' experience in researching illicit markets and organised crime including human trafficking and tobacco smuggling.

Alessandro Moretti, University of Copenhagen. Researcher exploring illicit markets, organised crime, online harms, and deviant entrepreneurship. Author of an ethnographic study of ticket touting in the UK.