Cross-border Crime and the Interface between Legal and Illegal Actors

Abstract

The debate on whether the problem of transnational crime is growing or not rages on. Yet, basic research and reliable data on which to inform this debate are lacking. As a consequence, anecdotal and incomplete information leads to analyses that focus on individual problems and neglect serious structural problems underlying the demand for illegal goods and services. Both theoretical endeavors and policy construction would thus benefit from some corrective analysis. This paper paves the ground for such analysis by focusing on the interface of legal and illegal actors. It first seeks to clarify the meaning of the terms 'international crime' and 'cross-border crime', often referred to as 'transnational crime'. Secondly, it separates for analytical purposes 'enterprise crime' from 'political crime', while recognizing that the two are often combined in practice. Thirdly, it attempts to construct a typology of legal-illegal links and associations, in order to better organize the existing knowledge and data on this subject. Fourthly, it addresses the question of whether the problem is growing, and if so, why. Finally, it outlines research and policy implications.

The Financial Management of the Illicit Tobacco Trade in the United Kingdom

“…The role played by tobacco manufacturers is also very interesting in this context, where tobacco smuggling can be viewed as another field of enquiry that exemplifies the blurred distinction between the 'underworld' and the 'upperworld' (Ruggiero et al, 1998;van Duyne, 2003). First, there is a 'systemic synergy' (Passas, 2003) between the tobacco industry and the cigarette-smuggling business. As von Lampe (2005: 31, 34) suggests, over an extended period of time, "large-scale smuggling would not be possible without at least the tacit connivance of the cigarette manufacturers".…”

Mobilios lietuvių nusikaltėlių grupės Nyderlanduose

“…Much has also been written about the ties between legal and illegal markets (Passas, 2002;Ruggiero, 2000). Ruggiero emphasizes that the boundary between legal and illegal markets is often unclear and that the two can combine to form an urban bazaar where legal and illegal goods and dealings merge and intertwine (Ruggiero, 2000).…”

Is it all going to waste? Illegal transports of e-waste in a European trade hub

“…Given the complexity and global nature of these flows, it is in fact difficult to determine which actors are involved. This is not necessarily limited to corporate actors, neither does it mean that it necessarily involves organised crime [25][26][27]. A diversity of actors can play a role and therefore research should consider a wide range of possible actors, beyond whitecollar crime, organised crime or state crime conceptualizations [26,28,29].…”

“…This article therefore tries to determine whether the actors involved in transports of e-waste and the roles they play can be considered legal or illegal. This article analyses whether both legal and criminal actors are involved and whether there is an interface between the two [26,28,30]. The theoretical background for these legal-illegal interfaces in transnational crime relates back to the framework developed by Passas [26,31] which was further refined by Tijhuis by applying it to the illicit antiquities and art trade [29].…”

“…In general, antithetical interfaces are those where legal and illegal actors oppose each other, whereas symbiotic interfaces are those where they cooperate. Four antithetical and six -or eight in Passas' typology 7 -symbiotic relations can be distinguished [26,29]. In what follows, each is explained briefly and the type is mentioned in brackets.…”