Transnational Organized Crime and Natural Resources Trafficking: Funding Conflict and Stealing from the World's Most Vulnerable Citizens

Transnational Organized Crime and Natural Resources Trafficking: Funding Conflict and Stealing from the World's Most Vulnerable Citizens, describes and analyzes conflict commodities, which the author, Donald R. Liddick Jr., defines as “high-value commodities trafficked in by networks of transnational criminals who use the illicitly derived proceeds to finance armed conflict and loot natural resource wealth from national treasuries.”

Each chapter examines a different commodity or set of commodities that have become the province of transnational organized crime networks: diamonds, ivory, rhino horn, timber, lapis lazuli, jade, rare minerals, gold, and oil receive scholarly analyses across multiple dimensions, including the structure and operation of criminal networks, the social and environmental consequences of the various conflict commodities trades, and the full range of palliative responses.

The book provides coverage of all the players involved, from high-ranking government officials to insurgent groups and terrorists. The work also enumerates the array of human rights abuses associated with the traffic in conflict commodities

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Mafia Posed to Reap Rewards of Government #Coronavirus Bailouts

As Italy mourns thousands of coronavirus dead, and survivors brace for life in an economic wasteland, one rung of society looks to win big: organized crime.

"The Italian mafia can turn threats into opportunities," top government anti-mafia investigator Giuseppe Governale told AFP.

Over 10,000 people have died in Italy of the flu-like disease, which has forced the country into a lockdown that is devastating the eurozone's third largest economy.

From the historic Cosa Nostra in Sicily, to the immensely powerful 'Ndrangheta in Calabria and trigger-happy Camorra in Naples, Italy's mafias were "caught on the back foot (by the virus), but are now organizing themselves," Governale said.

The Economist Intelligence Unit said Thursday it expected Italy's GDP to contract by a colossal seven percent for the year. Italian experts say some 65 percent of Italian small and medium businesses are at risk of bankruptcy.

That is music to the ears of the country's mobs, who use extortion and usuary to feast on ailing businesses."Just look at the portfolio of the mafias, to see how much they can earn from this pandemic," Italian anti-mafia author Roberto Saviano said in an interview in the Repubblica daily this week. "Where have they invested the last few decades? Multi-service companies (canteens, cleaning, disinfection), waste recycling, transportation, funeral homes, oil and food distribution. That's how they'll make money. "The mafias know what you have, and will need, and they give it, and will give it, on their own terms."

Saviano pointed to the last big epidemic in Italy, the 1884 Cholera outbreak in Naples, which killed more than half of the city's inhabitants.

The government paid out vast sums for a clean-up -- which went straight into the pockets of the Camorra.

The mafia "is already carefully planning ahead to when the economy will start to be rebuilt," said Governale, who heads up Italy's anti-mafia investigation directorate (DIA). "There will be a lot of money going around."

The 62-year old Sicilian said his team was preparing a plan to combat mafia infiltration. "They will be looking for loopholes in the system. We'll have to keep our eyes open for... suspicious operations, the creation of new companies, dummy corporations."

Giuseppe Pignatone, a former mafia-hunter in Reggio Calabria, said the epidemic would "inevitably make the judiciary's job more difficult over the coming weeks and years".

The trials of hundreds of defendants have ground to a halt.

The redirection of police resources over the crisis could also contribute to the mafia blossoming, as officers "already weighed down by new roles may have to face public order problems," he said.

According to the Stampa daily, Italy's secret service has warned the government of potential riots in southern Italy -- fomented by organised crime groups -- should the virus epicentre move from north to south.

Mobsters were believed by some crime experts to have orchestrated revolts in jails across the country early on in the epidemic, with prisoners fearful of catching the disease in overcrowded facilities demanding early release. "Very worryingly, some with lighter sentences are being allowed out," Nicola Gratteri, a leading prosecutor in the 'Ndrangheta stronghold of Calabria, told AFP.

Rights group Antigone said over 2,500 prisoners had been released since February 29 to ease overcrowding. "People linked to the 'Ndrangheta have already been released and put under house arrest," he said. "That presents a real danger".

Thanks to By Ella IDE and Ljubomir MILASIN.

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Joint Statement by @TheJusticeDept and @FTC on Expedited Antitrust Procedure and Guidance for #Coronavirus Public Health Efforts

The U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) today issued a joint statement detailing an expedited antitrust procedure and providing guidance for collaborations of businesses working to protect the health and safety of Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The expedited procedure notes, for example, that health care facilities may need to work together in providing resources and services to assist patients, consumers, and communities affected by the pandemic and its aftermath. Other businesses may need to temporarily combine production, distribution, or service networks to facilitate production and distribution of COVID-19-related supplies.

Under the expedited procedure for COVID-19 public health projects, the agencies will respond to all COVID-19-related requests, and resolve those addressing public health and safety, within seven calendar days of receiving all information necessary to vet these proposals. The statement sets out the instructions for businesses wishing to take advantage of this procedure.

The expedited COVID-19 procedure offers quicker review than existing FTC and Justice Department programs that are designed to provide guidance to businesses concerned about the legality of proposed conduct under the antitrust laws. The FTC’s “Staff Advisory Opinion” procedure and DOJ’s “Business Review Letter” procedure allow any firm, individual, or group of firms or individuals to submit a proposal to the agencies and to receive a statement advising whether the agencies would challenge the proposed activity under the antitrust laws.

“The Antitrust Division recognizes the importance of providing expeditious clarity on any antitrust obligations in this challenging time,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “Our expedited Business Review Letter procedure will help facilitate businesses that want to work quickly to address the urgent public health and economic needs associated with COVID 19.”

“Under these extraordinary circumstances, we understand that businesses collaborating on public health initiatives may need an expedited response from U.S. antitrust authorities,” said FTC Chairman Joe Simons. “We are committed to doing everything we can to help with these efforts, while continuing to aggressively enforce the antitrust laws.”

The antitrust laws accommodate procompetitive collaborations among competitors. In their joint statement, the FTC and the Department of Justice listed several types of collaborative activities designed to improve the health and safety response to the pandemic that would likely be consistent with the antitrust laws.

At the same time, the agencies also stressed that they will not hesitate to hold accountable those who try to use the pandemic to engage in antitrust violations. In addition, the Department of Justice will criminally prosecute conduct such as price-fixing, bid-rigging, or market allocation.

The expedited procedure requires that an applicant provide the FTC or Justice Department a written description of the proposal, including the parties that would be involved in the effort or activity, and the name and contact information of a person from whom the agencies could obtain additional information. This expedited procedure is for use solely for coronavirus-related public health efforts and may be invoked at the option of the requestor, in lieu of the agencies’ standard procedures for handling requests for advice.

The agencies also committed to expedite requests under the National Cooperative Research and Production Act for flexible treatment of certain standard development organizations and joint ventures.

The statement also notes that the FTC and the Justice Department are addressing actions by individuals and businesses to take advantage of COVID-19 through other fraudulent and illegal schemes. Anyone with information or concerns about this sort of conduct, or other COVID-19-related complaints, should contact the FTC’s Consumer Response Center at 1-877-382-4357 or the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline (1-866-720-5721) or e-mail (disaster@leo.gov). More information on the FTC’s guidance on potential fraud, deceptive practices, and scams is available here, and to report a complaint go to www.ftc.gov/complaint.

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Organized Crime: The Essentials

Organized Crime: The Essentials, provides students with an engaging introduction to the complex and pernicious world of organized crime.

Students learn key concepts and principles within the discipline and study real-world examples of organized criminal activity.

The text demonstrates how organized crime has adapted to changing times, become more sophisticated, and embedded itself into the fabric of economic, political, and social life in many nations around the world.

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Unemployment to Skyrocket in the Coming Weeks Reports Study by @BallState #CoronaVirusUpdate

Extreme social distancing in the United States will create a recession as mass layoffs cause unemployment to exceed 10.5% nationally and 10% in Indiana within 45 days, says a new report from Ball State University.

Within 90 days, the economic downturn caused by governmental efforts to mitigate COVID-19 will cause unemployment to rise to 14.6% nationally and 14.5% Indiana.

The co-authors of “What Will the Next Three Months Look Like? Simulating the Impact of Social Distancing on GDP and Employment” by Ball State’s Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) says the picture could be worse.

“These are likely very conservative estimates, yet it argues that job losses in March, April, May, and June may be the four largest in U.S. history, topping the 1.9 million jobs lost in the weeks following V-J Day in September 1945,” said CBER director Michael Hicks. “This level of job losses does not consider the effect of school closures on labor supply by households. This study does not assess the impact of supply chain disruptions on manufacturing, nor does it include the extreme shock to household wealth caused by stock market declines.”

CBER’s analysis finds the effect of a 45-day social distancing will reduce GDP significantly—down .5 nationally and .4 in Indiana —and cause job losses of nearly 121,000 in Indiana, and 10.6 million nationally. After 90 days of social distancing, researchers anticipate 241,000 workers to be unemployed in Indiana, and 21 million unemployed nationally. GDP will fall .9 nationally and .7 in Indiana.

“Moreover, this estimate extends only 90 days and does not include much broader impacts of longer social distancing,” he said. “We urgently need state policies to speed resources to displaced workers, and we need policies such as workshare and relief from job search, job tenure, and earnings requirements.”

Hicks also pointed out that state and federal policies that encourage extensions to borrowing terms should be broadly encouraged.

“This should extend to both small businesses and households,” he said. “Federal policies that supplement income for all residents are required. Universal basic income payments, with a fixed duration, would provide economic stabilization while minimizing labor market supply effects.

“Beyond stabilization efforts, state and federal governments should prepare for longer duration impacts. Schools across much of the nation are unprepared for lengthy closures. Efforts to expand broadband connectivity and fund technological options for schools should be part of a broader stimulus bill.”

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