H. Nelen

Organized crime: Culture, Markets and Policies

Dina Siegel and Hans Nelen - Introduction 1 Criminal groups and activities Historical transformations Anton Blok - Reflections on the Sicilian Mafia: Peripheries and their Impact on Centres 11 Letizia Paoli - The Decline of the Italian Mafia 27 Emanuel Marx - Hashish Smuggling by Bedouin in South Sinai 55 Transnational flows Sheldon X. Zhang and Samuel Pineda - Corruption as a Causal Factor in Human Trafficking 77 Stefano Becucci - New Players in an Old Game: the Sex Market in Italy 113 Tihomir Bezlov and Philip Gounev - The vehicle Theft Market in Bulgaria 143 The intertwinement of illegitimate and legitimate activities Dina Siegel - Diamonds and Organized Crime. The Case of Antwerp 169 Tim Boekhout van Solinge - Eco-Crime: the Tropical Timber Trade 193 Henk van de Bunt - The Role of Hawala Bankers in the Transfer of Proceeds from Organized Crime 223 Hans Nelen and Francien Lankhorst - Facilitating Organized Crime the Role of Lawyers and Notaries 249 Containment and prevention Law enforcement Carlo Morselli, Dave Tanguay, and Anne-Marie Labalette Criminal Conflicts and Collective Violence: Biker-Related Account Settlements in Quebec, 1994-2001 287 Richard Staring - Controlling Human Smuggling in the Netherlands. How the Smuggling of Human Beings Was Transformed into a Serious Criinal Offence 327 Dual strategies James B. Jacobs - The Civil RICO Law as theDecisive Weapon in Combating Labor Racketeering 365 Antonio La Spina - Recent Anti-Mafia Strategies: the Italian Experience 383 Hans Nelen and Wim Huisman - Breaking the power of organized crime? The administrative approach in Amsterdam 405 New York dual strategy to contain organized crime 427 About the authors 449 Index

Is the glass half full or half empty? Perceptions of the scale and nature of corruption in the Netherlands

Abstract This paper summarises the empirical results of a study on the scale, nature and outcome of corruption cases in The Netherlands. It turns out that the number of convictions for corruption offences in The Netherlands has remained very stable in recent decades. Research into the nature of corruption leads to the conclusion that civil servants who are found to be susceptible to corruption tend not to be low-profile officials, but rather personalities with a reputation in the civil service organisation for being noticeable, colourful and astute ‘fixers’. They frequently possess or demand the freedom to arrange matters on their own and are known as thorough and enterprising people. The research material further shows that the briber and the bribed usually know each other well before the violation of integrity occurs. This is not confined to business or instrumental relationships, because an element of friendship or affection is regularly involved. Something that plays a role in this setting is that trust is pivotal to prolonged corruption relationships. Research into the outcome of corruption cases leads to the conclusion that criminal prosecutions, once instituted, result, in nine out of ten instances, in a criminal conviction. Although suspects are sometimes acquitted on certain counts, complete acquittals are rare. The punishment most frequently handed down is a community service order. Combinations with other punishments occur regularly, with a custodial sentence or fine often being suspended. An average of five civil servants and three bribers actually end up behind bars each year.

Facilitating Organized Crime: The Role of Lawyers and Notaries

On Monday, 31 October 2005, 36-old Dutch lawyer Evert Hingst was murdered in front of his house in Amsterdam. Among Hingst’s clients were many noted and alleged criminals, including John Mieremet, who was once shot in front of Hingst’s office. After this assault, Mieremet claimed that Hingst had tried to set him up. Mieremet was murdered 3 days after the liquidation of Hingst, on 2 November, in Thailand. Hingst, a fiscal specialist, had been accused of assisting criminals to launder their money abroad. He was imprisoned for several weeks after police discovered three firearms and a large sum of cash during a raid of his office in 2005. A suspect of money laundering, membership of a criminal organisation and possession of firearms, Hingst gave up his profession as a lawyer in July 2005. He had previously been arrested on charges of forgery of documents in 2004.

A Case Study on Shuttle Trade between Korea and China

Abstract Informal trade exists in almost all countries and thrives in some regions. As many countries suffer from fiscal deficits, their governments seek hidden revenue sources. Informal cross-border trade that is non-compliant with regulatory revenue requirements such as the payment of customs duties is one source that is currently being targeted. This study, which employs case study methodology, examines shuttle trade between Korea and China from the perspective of the Korea Customs Service (KCS). While examining the connotation of informal trade, drawing on legality and tolerance, this study characterizes casual shuttle trade in Korea as illegal-but-tolerable. The study, drawing on Killiass theory of breaches, demonstrates that the shuttle trade in Korea emerged due to a combination of factors, namely trade quotas rates and the emergence of ferry lines between Korea and China, and has grown as a result of both the economic downturn and an increase in the demand for express delivery service between Korea and China. This study illustrates how the KCS has criminalized shuttle trade as a result of tax evasion, health concerns, and protection of Korean industries.

Contemporary Organized Crime.: Developments, Challenges and Responses.

This is the third publication (after Siegel et al. (eds.) (2003) Global Organized Crime. Trends and Developments; and Siegel and Nelen (eds.) (2008). Organized Crime: Culture, Markets and Policies) in which the most relevant papers that were presented during seminars of the Centre for Information and Research (CIROC) are brought together. The papers cover the period 2012-2015. The contributors provide up to date understanding of various aspects of organized crime, as well as the various responses that have been developed worldwide to contain serious forms of crime. The emphasis of the book is on six specific phenomena of organized crime and its containment.

Documentary Credit Fraud Against Banks: Analysis of Korean Cases

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the feature and mechanism of a new type of documentary credit fraud that victimizes banks’ issuing letters of credit (L/C), harming neither the importer nor the exporter and seeks to suggest possible measures to tackle it. Design/methodology/approach – This study analyzed 30 cases of documentary credit fraud against banks that were detected by the Korea Customs Service (KCS) and interviewed three key customs investigators to interpret the case reports more accurately and gain a deeper understanding into the mechanisms governing the fraud. This study draws on routine activity theory and crime pattern theory to analyze the opportunity structures of this fraud. Findings – This study found that the importer that engaged in the fraud cases had established a solid business relationship with the exporter and had established trust with the victimized banks; the banks, despite the fact that they had their own risk management systems to screen out unqualified L/C applicants, wer...

Corruption Dutch style

Despite the good reputation of the Netherlands, Dutch empirical research on the extent of both public and private forms of corruption is still scarce. However, the empirical findings that do exist as well as the expert opinions confirm the impression that corruption increasingly has become an alarming phenomenon in Dutch public administration and various lines of businesses. In this essay, I will give a brief overview of current developments with regard to both the corruption problem in the Netherlands and the ways the Dutch try to contain this problem.

Quick Sand; the proceeds-of crime-approach

During the last decade, throughout the world a strong urge has been felt to develop new strategies in combating organized crime (and more recently) terrorism. Most democratic countries have developed systems for the disclosure of suspicious financial transactions and have adopted legislation to find, freeze and seize criminal assets. Following the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11th 2001, there is a strong belief that more insight into the relationship between capital flows and terrorist activity is of vital importance in the fight against terrorism and organized crime.

From Bikers to Gangsters: On the Development of and the Public Response to Outlaw Biker Clubs in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium

Over the past decades, outlaw biker clubs have become widely labeled as organized crime groups. This chapter analyzes the interplay between the increasing internationalization of outlaw biker clubs, outlaw biker involvement in organized crime, their self-created dangerous image and the dominant policies to tackle outlaw biker-related crime. It is argued that the approach to outlaw bikers in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium has increasingly focused on outlaw biker clubs rather than individual members, including groups copying their appearance. This trend of monitoring and tackling clubs is characterized by utilizing responsibilization strategies and pro-active administrative measures in light of risk management and crime prevention ideologies. Whereas the very first biker clubs in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium were generally tolerated, the currently existing clubs are confronted with an all-encompassing zero-tolerance approach.

Taal van ontkenning: inleiding

In the introductory article of this special issue on the language of denial, some relevant concepts in relation to denial, speech act and discourse theory are explored. Stanley Cohen’s distinction between literal, interpretative and implicatory denial is illuminated, as well as the contribution of various scholars on the performative function of language. At the end of the article the relevance of these concepts for (cultural) criminology is explained.