Illicit Political Finance and State Capture

[Jedburgh]

IDEA, 21 Aug 09: Illicit Political Finance and State Capture (http://www.idea.int/resources/analysis/upload/IDEA_Inlaga_low.pdf)

This paper addresses an urgent topic: the use of illicit political finance in a systematic manner to influence or ‘capture’ agencies, local governments, territory or even the entirety of states. The evident result is an undermining of the representative processes and of the state itself. This topic has become particularly urgent of late with an international economic recession that leaves cash-rich, transnational criminal groups with more power than ever before.

Indeed, it could be argued that, while focusing on the issue of terrorism, the democratic international community has given too little attention to the threat posed by transnational organized crime (TOC (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/topics/crime/transnational-organized-crime/welcome.htm)), which can finance and supply – as well as become – terrorist organizations. The threat posed by TOC may be greater than that posed by terrorism. ‘Without a doubt, the greatest single threat today to global development, democracy and peace is transnational organized crime’, according to Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC (http://www.unodc.org/))....

[Bill Moore]

Jedburgh this was a useful post for me, I'm going to use a lot of the material in this paper to support my arguments on the convergence of organized crime and extremism. I think there are some flaws in their study, but still well done and thought provoking.

[Beelzebubalicious]

Interesting research, bill. Hope you share it with us when you're done. I got interested in state capture after a brief 2 year interlude in Ukraine. State capture exhibit number 1. It's ridiculous. Why pretend like the government is legitimate when anyone with enough money can buy a seat in parliament.

By the way, Joel Hellman from the work bank has done some good research on state capture. See, for example, http://info.worldbank.org/etools/docs/library/18070/fandd_statecapture_english.doc

[IntelTrooper]

I got interested in state capture after a brief 2 year interlude in Ukraine.

Why two years?

[Beelzebubalicious]

I had a 2 year contract.

[slapout9]

IDEA, 21 Aug 09: Illicit Political Finance and State Capture (http://www.idea.int/resources/analysis/upload/IDEA_Inlaga_low.pdf)

Thanks for posting Jed.....important stuff in there!

[IntelTrooper]

I had a 2 year contract.

Roger.

[Jedburgh]

.....my arguments on the convergence of organized crime and extremism.
Bill, here's another paper, published earlier this week by CRS, specifically from the US POV:

International Terrorism and Transnational Crime: Security Threats, US Policy, and Considerations for Congress (http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/R41004_20100105.pdf)

The involvement of insurgent and extremist groups in criminal activity is an issue that has been a concern of U.S. administrations for decades. In recent years, some observers have claimed that interactions between international terrorists and criminals are increasing. If true, expanded links between criminal and terrorist networks could increase U.S. vulnerability to attack by terrorist groups with enhanced criminal capabilities and financial resources. An expanded range of combined criminal and terrorist activity could also affect the global economy and U.S. foreign policy goals, undermining licit international commerce and the promotion of good governance and rule of law. Threats posed by a crime-terrorism nexus may be particularly challenging, as the scale and nature of their cooperation are believed to vary widely and limited anecdotal evidence largely serves as the basis for current understanding of the problem.....

[slapout9]

Link to James Galbraith's latest paper "Who Are These Economist Anyway"

Toward the end of the paper is a short section on how studying crime is often seen to be beneath economist and how damaging this can be to our economy.

Quote from the paper:
None of this was foreseen by mainstream economists, who generally find crime a topic beneath their dignity.

http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/HE/TA09EconomistGalbraith.pdf

[Jedburgh]

World Bank/UNODC: The Puppet Masters: How the Corrupt Use Legal Structures to Hide Stolen Assets and What to Do About It (http://www1.worldbank.org/finance/star_site/documents/Puppet%20Masters%20Report.pdf)

This report examines how bribes, embezzled State assets and other criminal proceeds are being hidden via legal structures, including shell companies, foundations and trusts. The study also provides policymakers with practical recommendations on how to step up ongoing international efforts to uncover flows of criminal funds and prevent criminals from misusing shell companies and other legal entities.

The study explains how corrupt public officials and their associates conceal their connection to ill-gotten funds by exploiting legal and institutional loopholes that allow opacity in companies, foundations and trust-like structures. It also lists obstacles to the investigation and establishment of the origin and ownership of stolen assets and highlights the difficulty of identifying where legal entities operate and have business relationships, lack of access to information on beneficial ownership and the use of complex and multi-jurisdictional corporate structures.

[OUTLAW 09]

Must-read from @HarvardIR on the link between kleptocrats, anonymous companies, and US real estate:
http://hir.harvard.edu/lifestyles-rich-infamous-confronting-dirty-money-us-real-estate/#

Moderator adds: this post was copied from the current Trump thread due to its relevance to the subject.