The category of 'Financial Crime' is to be added to the upcoming version of the Global Organized Crime Index. In this bonus episode Thin sits down with Nick Lewis, the Global Head of Integrated Intelligence and Investigations at Standard Charter Bank, to discuss the difficulties of financial crime investigations and what is needed to improve the situation.

Presenter: Thin Lei Win

Speakers:

Nick Lewis (OBE), Global Head at Integrated Intelligence and Investigations at Standard Chartered Bank and also the Managing Director for its High Risk Client Unit for conduct, financial crime and compliance. Nick has extensive experience in law enforcement, first joining the North Wales Police in 1982 and has since been involved in numerous organisations and law enforcement divisions, including the Serious Organised Crime Agency, leading operations around the world in countering transnational organised crime.  

Additional Links:

United Kingdom country profile

OCIndex.net

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

What are financial crimes? Once called 'White Collar Crimes', the term 'financial crimes' covers a broad range of forms of criminality - from financial fraud to tax evasion, and from illicit financial flows to money laundering. It is so often considered a victimless crime, but in reality that could not be further from the truth. Whether its a corrupt politician siphoning public money away and into tax havens, or unscrupulous financial institutions aiding the laundering of vast sums of illicit money - financial crimes cost the global economy trillions of dollars.

In the new iteration of the Global Organized Crime Index, financial crimes, are defined as "organized crime that results in a financial loss to the state, entity and/or private individuals". That is the topic of this episode of The Index.

Presenter: Thin Lei Win

Speakers:

Sangeeta Goswami – Policy Advocacy Adviser at Human Security Collective, a nonprofit foundation based in The Netherlands.

Kristina Amerhauser – Programme manager at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, conducting research and analysis in the Asia-Pacific Observatory.

Additional Links:

OCIndex.net

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Do you ever think about where the chair you are sitting on came from? Or perhaps the electronic device you are using to listen to this podcast, where does the metals come from?

The illegal extraction of non-renewable resources, like gold, timber, and rare earth minerals, has become a very lucrative and widespread criminal sector across the world – but it is particularly prevalent in natural-resource rich South America, which scores highest for non-renewable resource crimes.

Organized criminal groups with their origins in drug trafficking have become part of this illicit market, and as a result the situation is only getting worse - and it affects all of us.

Presenter: Thin Lei Win

Speakers:

Flávia do Amaral Vieira, Senior Researcher at Plataforma Cipó in Brazil.

Bram Ebus, criminologist, investigative journalist, and consultant at the International Crisis Group. Bram is also a member of the GI Network of Experts.

Additional Links:

OCIndex.net

Brazil Country Profile

Venezuela Country Profile

Colombia Country Profile

Peru Country Profile

Ecuador Country Profile

Argentina Country Profile

Uruguay Country Profile

Chile Country Profile

Bolivia Country Profile

Paraguay Country Profile

Guyana Country Profile

Suriname Country Profile

Measuring organized crime: A series of 13 discussion papers, one for each illicit market considered during the development of the Index.

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Plataforma Cipó

International Crisis Group

For a long time the relationship between Africa and illicit drugs was little explored in comparison to other parts of the world – often seen as little more than a transit region for drugs going to other places – usually Europe.

But our understanding has grown over recent years, as have the domestic markets for illicit drugs.

In this episode we study the markets of East and Southern Africa, answering questions like: Are drugs limited to coastal regions? Do they penetrate the interior of this huge continent? Where does this region fit into the global drugs trade?

Presenter: Thin Lei Win

Speakers:

Caryn Dolley, journalist and author of the book 'Clash of cartels: unmasking the global drug kingpins stalking South Africa.

Bernice Apondi, policy manager at Voices for Community Action and Leadership in Kenya and a consultant in research and drug policy.

Jason Eligh, Senior expert and Thematic Lead for Drugs at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Additional Links:

OCIndex.net

Kenya Profile

Tanzania Profile

Malawi Profile

Mozambique Profile

Zimbabwe Profile

Zambia Profile

Eswatini Profile

South Africa Profile

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Mexico has long had a relationship with organized crime. The cartels and the war on drugs have been the subject of countless documentaries and popular dramatized television series. The images of extreme violence have been broadcast all over the world and the journalists that report on these events are often targeted for the work they do.

But there is a counter balance to the violence and that's the brave and courageous civil society actors that battle extreme odds in an attempt to make life better. Sinaloa in Mexico was the birthplace of The Resilience Fund, which identifies civil society actors that do important work in their communities and helps them with building their capacity and financial support.

Presenter: Thin Lei Win

Speakers:

Siria Gastelum Félix, Director of Resilience at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Griselda Triana, journalist, activist and human-rights defender. She is the founder of the Javier Valdez library in Mexico City and host of the radio programme Siempre Vivas, in which she interviews female journalists. She works to strengthen support networks for victims of violence against journalists in Mexico, and in 2019 she was a grantee of the GI-TOC’s Resilience Fund.

Vania Pigeonutt, the co-founder of AMAPOLA PERIODISMO, an organisation that works to prevent extortion and also offers support to victims.  2021 Resilience Fund Grantee.

Marlene León, Director of Iniciativa Sinaloa, a civil society group who managed to develop, campaign for and finally get an approval on a law for the protection of human rights defenders and journalists in Sinaloa.

Additional Links:

OCIndex.net

Mexico Country Profile

The Resilience Fund

Griselda Triana - The forgotten ones, Relatives of murdered and disappeared journalists in Mexico (paper available in English and Spanish)

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

The small country of Tunisia was the origin of the Arab String, a wave of protests swept across North Africa and the Middle East in 2011. Over the proceeding decade Tunisia was hailed as one of the few that was able to make a peaceful transition. But over the last few years things have taken a turn for the worse, exemplified by an 11% turnout for the latest elections.

According to Organized Crime Index, Tunisia has low levels of criminality but the current political situation has rang alarm bells and according to recent research from the GI-TOC migration from and through Tunisia rose to levels not seen since the months following the 2011 revolution.

In this episode we're talking about Tunisia and human smuggling.

Presenter: Thin Lei Win

Speakers:

Tasnim Abderrahim, Analyst, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime - Link

Matt Herbert, Senior Expert at the North Africa and Sahel Observatory, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime - Link

Additional Links:

OCIndex.net

Tunisia Country Profile

(Paper) Losing hope: Why Tunisians are leading the surge in irregular migration to Europe

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

China's 'One Child Policy' was designed to curb an exploding population in 1980 with little thought given to the demographic impact this would have in the future. There have been many knock-on effects, including a huge gender imbalance. This in turn has made some Chinese men look to neighbouring countries, like Cambodia, in an effort to find a wife, fuelling an illicit market in what is known as 'bride trafficking'.

The organized criminal networks that run these trafficking routes often trick women and girls with promises, but trap them, restrict their movements, threaten them with violence, forcing them to marry men they have never met or can even communicate with.

Presenter: Thin Lei Win

Speakers:

Vireak Chhun, Independent Consultant and Researcher on Human Trafficking

Sean Sok Phay, Executive Director of Child Helpline Cambodia.

Thi Hoang, Analyst, Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime and Managing Editor of Journal of Illicit Economies and Development.

Additional Links:

OCIndex.net

China country profile

Cambodia country profile

Vietnam country profile

Cambodia’s trafficked brides: The escalating phenomenon of forced marriage in China

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, IUU Fishing, is a multi-billion dollar industry with links to modern slavery, corruption, environmental destruction, weak governance, complex corporate structures, illicit financial flows, tax abuse and financial secrecy - which makes it a perfect environment for transnational organized criminal networks to operate.

In this episode Thin is joined by two experts to discuss the impact of IUU fishing in the region of Oceania, which covers Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islanders - a region that relies in the fisheries industry.

Presenter: Thin Lei Win

Speakers:

Ian Urbina, Investigative journalist, Author and Director of The Outlaw Ocean Project - Twitter.

Dr. Jade Lindley, Specialist in Transnational Organised Crime at the University Of Western Australia Law School and a member of the GI Network of Experts - Twitter.

Additional Links:

IUU Fishing Index

The Outlaw Ocean Project

OCIndex.net

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Over the past three years, Insight Crime have been investigating the relationship between the cocaine trade and Venezuela. Part of this investigation focuses in on the role of the state – some state actors who are actively involved, other senior state actors who allow and enable the cocaine to flow.

According to the Global Organized Crime Index – Venezuela sits 18th out of 193 countries around the world for levels of criminality. And is one of only 16 countries that scored NINE or higher out of ten when it comes to state-embedded actors playing a role in illegal activities.

In this episode Thin sits down with Jeremy McDermott, co-founder and co-director of Insight Crime to talk about their investigation and about the link between criminal actors and officials within the Venezuelan government.

Presenter: Thin Lei Win

Speakers:

Jeremy McDermott, Co-founder and Co-director of Insight Crime and member of the GI Network of Experts - Twitter

Mariana Botero Restrepo, Analyst, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime - Twitter

Additional Links:

Insight Crime investigation - "Venezuela’s Move to Cocaine Production: Crops, Chemists and Criminal Evolution"

Venezuela Profile

OCIndex.net

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

How has organized crime changed between 2019 and 2021 on the African Continent?

This huge continent boasts a wealth of natural resources, biodiversity and a young population. But Africa is also a key source and transit hub for illicit goods and behaviour - from human trafficking to arms smuggling and from the illegal wildlife trade to environmental crimes.

In this episode Thin talks with Julian Rademeyer, the Director of the Civil Society Observatory of Illicit Economies in East and Southern Africa at the GI-TOC.

Presenter: Thin Lei Win

Speakers:

Julian Rademeyer, Director of the Civil Society Observatory of Illicit Economies in East and Southern Africa and author of 'Killing for Profit – Exposing the Illegal Rhino Horn Trade'.

Additional Links:

(Paper) Evolution of Crime in a Covid World: A comparative analysis of organised crime in Africa, 2019–2021

Africa Organized Crime Index

OCIndex.net