Corruption & Organized Crime

By UN CICP
 Corruption on the Palermo’s
Convention
Article 8
Criminalization of corruption
1. Each State Party shall adopt such legislative and other measures as may be necessary to
establish as criminal offences, when committed intentionally:
(a) The promise, offering or giving to a public official, directly or indirectly, of an undue
advantage, for the official himself or herself or another person or entity, in order that
the official act or refrain from acting in the exercise of his or her official duties;
(b) The solicitation or acceptance by a public official, directly or indirectly, of an undue
advantage, for the official himself or herself or another person or entity, in order that
the official act or refrain from acting in the exercise of his or her official duties….
 Organized Crime link to
Corruption
Organized Crime Group Group of three or more persons that
exists during certain time. It acts by
previous agreement, with the objective
of commiting one or more serious
crimes (4 years of jail). With the aim of
obtaining financial or other material
benefit
O.C. links with Violence The O.C. Groups exert their powers
and Corruption
through the threat and use of
violence
 Information Centralized Systems used
against O.C. must:

 ID the organizational structure and the

“company” shape
 ID product/service offered
 ID and block modus operandi (supplying
logistic, production, marketing and financial
channels)
 Different levels of relationship
between O.C. and Corruption

 1st Level: Bribery

 2nd Level: Continuous Acts of Bribery (“On
payroll”)
 3rd Level: Infiltration into Government Agencies
 4th Level: Infiltrating the Government (Higher
level)
 5th Level: Infiltrating the Political Arena
 1st Level: Bribery

Organized Crime Group  The bribe is

offered or solicited
for a single act.
 For example: to
obtain a passport,
licenses or to get
information
designed to enable
Public Officer
criminal
advantage.
 Benefits of the Bribery Acts

 The O.C. Groups obtains an advantage

 False identities and documents
 Advance information about police activity
 Manipulation of official records
 Disappearing evidence
 Access to jury identities
 The “Custom” Case
Drug Trafficking
Cartel

Border

DRUG

Custom Officers
2nd Level: Continuous Acts of
Bribery (“On the Payroll”)
Organized Crime Group  Bribe payments are
ongoing.
 Ensures a
continuous flow of
information and
protection from
Periodically
police intrusion
into criminal
Public Officer
activities.
 Benefits of the Continuous
Bribery Acts
 O.C. Groups obtain constant access to
confidential information allowing them to
maintain patterns of illegal activity
 The O.C. Groups remain “one step ahead”
of Police
 Measures to avoid the Bribery
Acts
 Strength the socio-economic status of public
officers with fair and competitive salaries
 Implement strong penalties for breaches of public
duties
 Encourage “whistle-blowers”
 Train and assign Integrity Officers to corruption-
prone government operations
 Reduce individual discretion
The “Informer” Case

Drug Lord

Information about:
• Court Orders
• Raid orders
• Operations
Military Officer
 3rd Level: Infiltration Into
Government Agencies
(Operative Level)

Organized Crime Group  infiltration is

Member sporadic within
lower ranking
official positions.
BECOMES

 OC members and
friends gain
employment in law
enforcement
agencies,judiciary
Prosecutor’s Office
Public Officer
and other
operations.
 How is Infiltration
Accomplished?
1) Applying for Job 2) “Buying” the Job
Vacancies
The O.C. group supports The O.C. group bribes or
one or more members or blackmails officials to
friends to participate and place its members and
apply for job vacancies friends in the government
with the Government. post.
 The Typical Case

Organized Crime
Group

Owned by
Contracts

Local Governor
4th Level: Infiltrating the Government
(Medium-tactical Level)

Organized Crime Group  This infiltration can

encompass entire
branches or higher
CONTROLLED

ranking officers.
 Top Officials in Law
Enforcement,
Prosecutor’s Office
and other sensitive
Higher Rank government offices
Public Officer are OC members.
 Methods Used to Infiltrate the
higher levels of Government
1) Placement of 2) Control of the Chief
Corrupted Officers of Section/Region
into Higher Office
The O.C. group use bribery and
Bribery, blackmail and coercion is
blackmail to support Officers
used to control the chief
previously corrupted by their
organization to higher ranks with decision-maker of an entire
broader access to information. branch of government.OC can
This “support” is repaid to OC continue operating with very
with increased protection and little risk of discovery or
access to more useful secret successful prosecution.
police information
 Benefits of the Infiltration of
O.C. Groups
 O.C. Groups need support from government
officials in order to maximize profits
 bribery and extortion are used to influence
police, judges and other key officials
 OC gains control over entire sectors of the
economy
 The “General” Case

Drug Lord
Rival Drug
Cartels

BECAME Anti-Drug Zsar

General
Head of a Military Region
 The “Attaché” Case

Wife
Military Attache
to an Embassy Organized Crime
DRUG Group

Diplomatic Pouch
 Measures to avoid the
Infiltration of O.C. Groups
 Transparency in the hiring process including
public notification of potential candidates.
 Strengthening promotional testing and strict
secrecy of test questions
 Vetting process thorough background
investigations and polygraph test (updated financial
statements, family ties, etc.)
 Public disclosure of assets
 5th Level: Infiltrating the
Political Arena
Organized Crime Group

Congressmen Ministers Politicians Law Enforcement

(For Security)
(Mayors, Governors, etc.)
 Democracy

 Inter-related mecanisms to translate

social preferences into public policies.
Grand Corruption

 Scale
 Actors
 State capture
 Grand Corruption

 Budgets distorted
 Social investment reduced
 Access to the poor is hampered
 Hampers Democracy
 Democracy

Grand Corruption
 How is Political Infiltration
Accomplished?
 Participating in Political Campaigns (giving money, media
support and others)
 Buying votes for candidates and corrupting the
democratic election process
 Lobbying other politicians for support using bribery
and blackmail
 Exploiting O.C. Members’ family links
 Creating “debts” for politicians to “repay” later by
using blackmail and extortion
 The “Representative” Case

Drug Trafficker BECAME

Representative of National Security

CONTINUED
Drug Trafficking
 The “Narco-campaign”Case

Drug Lord

Campaign Treasurer

Former Representative
Offer the Money
Former Diplomat
Presidential Candidate
 The “Governor” Case

Drug Trafficker BECAME

Senator

BECAME
CONTINUED Governor of Touristical State
Drug Trafficking
The “Sixty-Million” Case

Drug Traffickers
Group
To let them “Work”

60
MM
US$

Politicians
 Measures to avoid the Political
Infiltration of O.C. Groups
 The State should increase financial support of political
parties and campaigns
 Strengthening the laws of media concentrations, combating
monopolies
 Increasing the transparency of contributions
 Public disclosure of candidate background including
criminal records and links
 Strengthening banking and securities’ regulatory capacities
 Best Practices in the
Eradication of Organized Crime
 An appropriate legal framework making it possible to fight OC effectively
by following the Palermo Convention standards -(e.g. bank and securities
regulations, witness protection laws, RICO-type statutes);
 Compatible-harmonized legal norms among states;
 Harmonize, enhance, and coordinate international law enforcement efforts
and capabilities;
 An informed media with the capacity to address the issue with sophistication
while promoting democratic approaches in the fight against O.C.;
 An informed population ready to fight the issue. This includes the
development of significant literature to keep the citizenry informed;
 Schools incorporating civic tools into their curricula to counteract OC
activities;
 The Link Between Organized Crime
and Rule of Law
Singapore

Norway
New Zealand Austria
Finland
United Kingdom Denmark
Sweden
Australia Luxembourg
Netherlands
Canada
Germany Iceland
Japan
Ireland
Hong Kong, China
Mauritius United States

Chile Portugal
France
Spain
Korea, Rep. Israel
Taiwan, China
Italy
Malaysia
Belgium
Hungary Jordan

Costa Rica
Poland Czech Republic
Greece
Thailand
Argentina

Slovak Republic India

Egypt, Arab Rep.

Turkey
China
Philippines
Bulgaria Zimbabwe
Brazil

South Africa Bolivia

Vietnam
Mexico
Peru

El Salvador Venezuela, RB
ROL

Ecuador Russian Federation Ukraine

Colombia

Indonesia

OC
Source: World Bank and World Economic Forum 2000.
 The Link Between Organized Crime
and Corruption in Legal System
United
NewNorway
Zealand
Kingdom
Australia Iceland
Denmark
Netherlands
Canada
Germany Sweden Singapore
Ireland Hong Kong, China Switzerland Austria
Israel
Japan United States
Belgium France
Spain

Portugal Jordan
South Africa Mauritius
Zimbabwe
Hungary Egypt, Arab Rep.

Italy Chile
Costa Rica Turkey Greece
Malaysia
Taiwan, China

Brazil Czech Republic

Poland Thailand
India
Korea, Rep.

Colombia Argentina

Slovak Republic

Russian Federation Bulgaria Vietnam

China

El Salvador Mexico Ukraine

Philippines

Venezuela, RB
Indonesia
CORR

Peru

Ecuador Bolivia

OC

Source: World Economic Forum, 2000 (organized crime and corruption in legal system)
 The Link Between Organized Crime and
Enforcement of the Banking and Securities
Regulations
United States

Canada
Germany
France

Netherlands United Kingdom

Italy Belgium Chile
Japan
Spain

Costa Rica

Austria

Poland
Hong Kong, China

Brazil
South Africa

Argentina Thailand
Bolivia Greece
Mexico

Hungary
India
Peru
Turkey

Colombia
Venezuela, RB
Indonesia
ENF

Czech Republic China

Russian Federation
Slovak Republic

OC
Source: (University of Vrginia Center for International Law and Economic Development--CILED Index) and
 The Link Between Organized Crime
and Regulatory Discretion
Switzerland
United
Norway
Kingdom

Germany
Canada
Netherlands France
Sweden

Denmark
Chile

Australia
United States Spain Austria

Japan Ireland
Peru Portugal

Belgium

Mexico
Czech Republic
Argentina

Brazil

Slovak Republic
Hungary
Colombia Italy
Poland
Costa Rica
Greece
REGDIS

Venezuela, RB

Ukraine
Russian Federation

OC

Source: World Economic Forum 1998 (regulatory discretion) and World Economic Forum 2000 (organized crime)
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