Transnational Crime Essay

To begin, pirates have been prowling the seas as far back as ancient times, such as the “Phoenicians and Greeks in the Mediterranean.” As well Muslim piracy as Jihad has existed since the 17th Century along the Barbary Coast of North Africa.2 These pirates were known as Barbary corsairs, and they would attack ships from Christian countries, seizing their ships and, and selling the sailors into slavery. Today, Somali pirates are seizing ships and taking hostages for ransom along the waters off the coast of Somali and the Gulf of Aden.

In order to successfully launder money three processes are needed: placement, layering, and integration. In the first state, placement, the illegal proceeding are disengaged from direct association with the crime or criminal. In the second stage, layering, the money is used in some legal financial transaction in order to “camouflage” the cash. In the third stage, integration, the apparently legal money is available to the money launder (Kelly, Maghan and Joseph). For better understanding, the fig 1 gives a real life example on how money laundering is done.

The incredibly broad international problem of criminal networks remains so in fact because it is prominently an international issue with wide-ranging subjects all interconnected. The interconnection of crimes such as arms trafficking and drug smuggling is not innovative, however the effect of globalization has led to a change in the “understanding of culture” and its influence in the context of crimes and their impact. These crimes all, in their various focuses, have existed in various forms for decades and were viewed in culturally specific contexts for much of their continuation. However, in the new modern era these crimes are strengthened through global governments’ “obsolete tools [and] inadequate laws” used to combat them, and so must be attacked using new forms of international cooperation on numerous levels. Such efforts are acted upon through the United Nations and its many branches; and the more economical focused organizations such as the World Bank, or lawful, such as the International Criminal Court.

Rewrite)A second form from the seven forms of transnational criminality would be money laundering, which is dirty money that is illegally obtained money that cannot be spent freely. While there is evidence that terrorist weapons have been obtained by direct exchange for drugs, or for “dirty” money, most expenditures by terrorists are for goods or services obtained on the free market, which demands clean cash. Hence, much of the dirty money must be laundered in a vast criminal enterprise called money laundering. Since at least the 1970s, there has been a sustained and increasingly global interest in stopping money laundering. Terrorists financing requirements reflect this diversity, varying greatly between organizations. Financing is required

Transnational crimes, including the trafficking of human, drugs and weapons, corruption have the ability threaten the stability of a nation and regional organisation such as ASEAN. Indonesia’s abundance of transnational crime is considered an obstacle to regional security of Southeast Asia. UNODC estimates over $1.4 billion of revenue obtained from transnational crimes in 2014. With over four million methamphetamine users the production and shipping of drugs within Indonesia poses a significant risk to the region and Australia in particular due to their geographical proximity. Organised crime is also affecting the state directly as there have be issues of resorting stolen state funds from overseas accounts. There exists a risk that should Indonesia continue to grow economically then organised criminal may be in a position to exploit the existing system of corruption and undermine international trust in the

Crime has continually evolved thus becoming more complicated especially due to technological developments. The other factors that have contributed to crime complexity includes demographic changes for males below 30 years of age which is a crime-prone age limit; and macro-economic scales that include the unemployment rate, consumers' spending power and economic stability of the region. These factors revolve around individual's income generating potential which is an aspect that draws a line between wealth and poverty. International borders have currently become porous due to intensified trading between regions, travel needs that are driven by various

Transnational crime offenders tend to be well trained and operate in structured groups they usually are headed by a powerful authoritative leader, and their intentions solely focused on making a profit from illegal activities, because these group sometimes spread their operations internationally they have become a threat

However, this process can be messy at times. This strategy is crucial for early steps of an investigation. A few major problems come to play when trying to “follow the money” One major problem with this strategy is that money laundering is international, which makes it harder to track money. First, financial intelligence is unable to gain evidence from law enforcement records because law enforcement interest lie in drugs or violence of a criminal enterprise rather than financial details. Second, some money laundering schemes can be a complex process of layering so that a specialist should be attached to the investigation so they can use their expertise. Finally, money laundering is an international problem. Money can be moved in many ways, for instance, wiring money, using foreign banks, and investing in companies overseas just to name a few (Soudijn, 2014, p.214). The concept of “follow the money” can be a long and complex process when investigating criminal

What do we mean when we refer to a criminal act to be transnational? Well, transnational crime is a criminal act that extent national borders, therefore, violating the laws of more than one country. These are the elements that apply for a criminal act to be considering transnational. These elements are as follow, it is committed in more than one country, and it is committed in one country but a portion of its planning takes place in another country. It is committed in one country but contains an organized criminal group that engages in criminal acts in more than one country. Finally, it is committed in one country but has strong effects in another country.

It is becoming one of the biggest threats to global trade and piracy in Somalia and The Gulf of Aden is a perfect example of this. The Rise of Piracy Worldwide Incidents (2015) reports over 246 attacks worldwide. This is down to the reward outweighing risk, as according to Pham (2010: 333) “the amounts which pirates can earn for the successful capture of a merchant vessel have spiralled upward.’ Murphy (2007) lists a number of conditions conducive to piracy these can include the promise of Reward and Conflict and disorder. As mentioned, much of the motivation for piracy comes from over fishing and pollution in Somali waters. With the federal government having no authority to enforce territorial sea rights, over-fishing has become infinite. Pirates have had so much success mainly because of their ability to effectively upgrade their technology with the use of automatic weapons. The attempt to combat piracy consists of patrols in the area sending naval forces. However, the problem with maintaining piracy is that this becomes expensive and therefore unable to look beyond the area of water to see any incoming pirates. By addressing these issues there is hope in solving the crisis of high seas

Human Rights passed the important stages of development since 2nd World War and became an influential factor in international relations. At the same time, transnational crime has showed a significant increase. In this sense, the international community has reacted by establishing strong legal mechanisms and intensifying the preparation process of international agreements for the creation of a more favorable climate. Extradition is regarded as an effective tool in the fight against transnational organized crimes. Inevitable, there are divergences on the inclusion of human rights through the extradition process in terms of international treaties and domestic laws of the countries. More importantly extradition process

So what is money laundering? Our trip to HSBC, Nick Batterton, provided us with a detailed overview and a case scenario to show just how easily one may launder money. The three core stages of money laundering are the placement, layering, and integration. You must first enter your illegal funds into the financial system through deposit, usually through a legitimate looking business. Then you layer or launder, where you make multiple complex transactions to displace it from the origin deposit. Once complete you re-enter the funds into ligament purchases such as luxury purchases and financial investments. So why are the banks in

Organised crime groups will utilise the Indian Ocean space to conduct their illicit operations (Hastings, 2012). Major crimes include piracy, smuggling and human trafficking. Piracy is a major security challenge in the IOR as it threatens peace and regional stability, trade and commerce as well as international energy movement (Herbert-Burns, 2012). It has encountered a lot of attention within the media as a successful means of financial gain through hijackings of private and merchant vessels. Maritime piracy has been prevalent since the early 1990’s and occurs primarily around shipping lanes (Lehr, 2013). In 2009, the list of reported piracy attacks was over four hundred, in which approximately three hundred of those occurred in the IOR (Hastings, 2012). The operation usually involves the pirates taking the crew or significant members of the crew (the captain) hostage and asking their families or employer for a significant ransom (Laipson, 2009). These ‘pirates’ will commandeer or utilise the crew to steer the ships back to their country. The strategic location of Somalia in the Horn of Africa, makes it an ideal departure location for piracy operations (Bhaskar & Kemp, 2011). The geographical chokepoint of the horn of Africa, in particular the Gulf of Aden, sees regular vessel traffic and this promotes an ideal environment for piracy to thrive. In recent years, piracy operations off the coast of Somalia have

The enhanced cooperation in the Straits has show increase in numbers in piracy attacks the African by Southeast Asia, especially in the waters of Somalia. The evident can found in IMB Piracy Report from 2000 until 2010. Cooperative efforts between states in the area and the extra area support that given significantly to the reduction of piracy and armed robbery in the Straits of Malacca. It is the spirit of the Article 100 of the 1982 Convention where stated that all countries are needed to cooperate to prevent piracy. Therefore, other coastal countries need to ready to cooperate to crimes. However, although the African area learn a lesson from the success in reducing piracy in the Straits, the strategies that used in the Straits may not be good for the African area. It because, the main cause and attack are different from one area to

Money laundering is the generic term used to describe the process by which criminals disguise the original ownership and control of the proceeds of criminal conduct by making such proceeds appear to have derived from a legitimate source . In other words it is a practice which engages in specific financial transactions, in order to conceal the identity, source or destination of money. It is the main operation of underground economy. The Interpol General Secretariat Assembly in 1995 defined money laundering as: “Any act or attempted act to conceal or disguise the identity of illegally obtained proceeds, so that they appear to have originated from legitimate sources”.