International Journal on Criminology Volume 2, Number 1, Spring 2014 | Page 28

International Journal on Criminology
Central America, leave no country immune.
Indeed, this pervasiveness concerns
developed countries as well. After all,
among the 10 generally acknowledged mafia-type
organizations, seven find their origins
in G8 countries 16 .
Beyond, the intertwinement of state
and crime concerns countries stranded
on corruption reefs, hostages of the narco-economy
or in the midst of political turmoil,
or all of the above united in a perfect
storm (Afghanistan and Guinea-Bissau) 17 .
"It is impossible to understand all the
workings that govern prices, intermediaries
or the structure of supply networks of Russian
gas that arrives in Europe (transiting notably
by Ukraine) without taking into account the
role of organized crime" 18 .
As an illustration of this quantum
leap from public security to global and national
security concerns, an alleged criminal,
present on the FBI 10 most wanted
fugitives list for being suspected of having
defrauded investors of more than 150 million
dollars from 1993 to 1998 is also and
more importantly reputed to be involved in
the Eastern European gas market.
According to the FBI and the Department
of Justice, he "uses his ill-gotten
gains to influence governments and their
economies" 19 .
In a meeting with the U.S. Ambassador
in Kiev, reported in a 2008 diplomatic
cable released by WikiLeaks, the nominal
owner of the company distributing gas to
the EU allegedly "acknowledged ties to [the]
Russian organized crime figure [identified
hereabove], stating he needed [his] approval
to get into business in the first place […].
He noted that it was impossible to approach
a government official for any reason without
also meeting with an organized crime member
at the same time. [He] acknowledged
that he needed, and received, permission
from [this Russian organized crime figure]
when he established various businesses, but
he denied any close relationship to him. If
he needed a permit from the government,
for example, he would invariably need permission
from the appropriate ‘businessman’
who worked with the government official
who issued the particular permit. He maintained
that the era of the ‘law of the street’
had passed and businesses could now be run
legitimately in Ukraine" 20 .
16
Cosa Nostra, Camorra, 'Ndrangheta, Sacra Corona Unita, and Stidda in Italy, U.S. Cosa Nostra, and Yakuza
in Japan. The three remaining being the Triads in China, the Turkish maffya and the Albanian-speaking mafia
while a scholar debate takes place concerning vory v zakone (a part of Russian organized crime) regarding
its mafia status. A mafia can be defined as a secret society or an institutionalized association anchored in a
territory while having an international and polycriminal activity. Readily compartmentalized and hierarchical
even though a looser network of cells can also be used, a genuine mafia is driven by a set of rites (including
initiation), rules (omerta …), and beliefs. Its recruitment is usually based on family and clan. Should all these
criteria be met, only the test of time can confer the mafia qualification, hence the debate over vory v zakone.
For an example of Mafia code of honor see the Triads 36 commitments oath, Thierry Cretin, Mafia (s) (Chronique
editions, 2009),124–5.
17
M. Naím, “La mafia au cœur de l'État”, Slate, May 10, 2012.
18
Unofficial translation, Idem.
19
FBI, "Global Con Artist" Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey, "Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey
Delivers Remarks at the CSIS Forum on Combating International Organized Crime", April 23, 2008, Political/
Congressional Transcript Wire in CRS, Organized Crime: An Evolving Challenge for U.S. Law Enforcement,
January 6, 2012.
20
Cable #002414, December 10, 2008, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/182121
and cable #002294, November 21, 2008 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/179510
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