Future of Eurasian Organized Crime

¶ … Future of Eurasian Organized Crime in the United States

As the world's economic and information infrastructure becomes globalized, a new organized elite criminal group is being shaped. Organized crime groups are not disappearing but instead are adapting and shifting in order to make necessary adjustments as the economic and regional transformations of the globe develop. It has been predicted by law enforcement "...illegal schemes will become increasingly far-reaching - both geographically and otherwise - and that criminals, more of whom seem to enjoy some measure of government protection, will become better able to cover their tracks with a bewildering array of shell companies and legal entitles established as front companies for transnational criminal activities." (Kupchinsky, 2005) According to Kupchinsky, "Russian organized crime gangs are expected to network with their Asian counterparts and from Eurasian criminal groupings." (2005) Kupchinsky states:."..even the term 'organized crime' is rapidly being replaced by 'organized global crime'." (2005) Because organized crime is so very global in nature in order to understand the history of Eurasian Organized Crime (EOC) in the United States in terms of its past, present and future, investigation, research and study must be undertaken nationally, regionally, and also transnationally. The following research therefore undertakes an extensive review of literature in this subject area of Eurasian Organized Crime and follows its trail to the United States and the crime that have been - are- and will likely be committed in the United States if this complex and serious problem is not properly addressed proactively.

Research of Eurasian Organized Crime in the United States has informed this study that these crime groups are comprised of individuals many of whom were previously hardcore criminals in hierarchically gang-based prison systems in the former Soviet Union. Within the prison system, as corrupt as the economic system in Russia during Soviet rule was a set of mafia-based rules for operation and this included organized crime-affiliation between prisoners, jailors and organized crime bosses both inside and outside the prison system. A stint in prison was for the low-level criminals simply a means of gaining higher education into the perpetration of fraud, money laundering, trafficking and prostitution of people, among other heinous crimes, which these groups commit. At the time the Soviet rule fell this work will show that many hardcore criminals freed from the prison-system, put aboard ships to the United States and arrived to begin anew cleverly defrauding both government and citizen in the United States. Moreover, these criminal groups branched out making contacts with other criminals and other crime syndicates located from shore to shore in key cities of the United States.

BACKGROUND of the PROBLEM

Organized Eurasian crime in the United States began in the 1970s upon the arrival of a significant number of Soviet immigrants arrived in the United States. Most of those who entered the United States during this period were Soviet Jews who had fled from religious persecution and others were political dissidents. According to Grand D. Ashley, Assistant Director of the Criminal Investigative Division of the FBI, in his testimony before the Subcommittee on European Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Relations in the United States Senate on October 30, 2003. Within these arrivals into the United States "...a very small cadre of criminals" existing while others in the group were law abiding and hardworking individuals. In 1991, the dissolution of the Soviet Union resulted in another wave of immigrants arriving in the United States "with thousands of emigres taking advantage of the lifting of travel restrictions to flee dismal economic conditions in the former Soviet Union. While the vast majority of these individuals in this wave were also hardworking and law-abiding, this exodus resulted in an increased presence in the United States of both domestic and foreign-based Eurasian organized crime enterprises. This emergence of foreign-based Eurasian organized crime enterprises following the advent of capitalism and privatization in the former Soviet Union after 1991 has changed the scope of the threat posed by Eurasian organized crime enterprise from a localized problem to one of international proportions." (Ashley, 2003) Eurasian organized crime emerged in the 1990s as a national and global threat.

DEFINITION of TERMS

Organized Crime (the United States) - a self-perpetuating, structured, and disciplined association of individuals or groups combined together for the purpose of obtaining monetary or commercial gains or profits wholly or in part by illegal means, while protecting their activities through a pattern of graft and corruption."

Eurasian Organized Crime - This is the term applied by the FBI to the phenomenon of organized crime associated with person originating from Russia, eastern and central European countries, as well as the other independent states created following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Most members of Eurasian organized crime groups in the United States originated in the territories of the former Soviet Union, particularly in Russia, the Ukraine and to a lesser degree from the Baltic states, principally Lithuania and Latvia.

LITERATURE REVIEW

The Russian Organized Crime Task Force has stated conclusions that "in the absence of significant reforms, the Russian Federation itself is likely to become a full-blown criminal-syndicalist state." (Russian Organized Crime, nd) the task force relates that such a state is of the composition, characteristics and interactive nature as follows: (1) corrupt officials at all levels throughout the government bureaucracy, from minister to tax collector to low-level factotum; (2) successful, full-time professional criminals; and (3) businessmen for whom existing Russian law - and Western norms of commerce - are simply obstacles to be overcome in one way or another. (Russian Organized Crime, nd) Russia is stated to have been characterized historically by overabundance of crime in the metropolitan areas however, during the period of Soviet rule these factions of crime were hidden and repressed within the country rules by a totalitarian regime. In the early 1980s organized criminal activity become easier to see during what was a period of social, political and economic reform and in this period of high criminal activity grew quickly and became an easy way to obtain money quickly for many people. Diminished standards of living during this period in post-Cold War Russian simply exacerbated the problem of increasing organized crime. The ending of the Cold War "have given birth to the 'new Russians' entrepreneurs who have flourished in the reform atmosphere." (Russian Organized Crime, nd) the task force relates: "The lingering Soviet mindset among many Russians has allowed ROC to exist and flourish. Many Russians do not view certain practices generally considered illegal in the West (such as stealing from one's place of employment) as crimes." (Russian Organized Crime, nd) Another problem is that many people in Russia hold the belief that laws are made only to be broken and the consequences is that very little in the way of moral incentives for living within the law exist in Russia. Lack of legal foundation for commerce in Russia further exacerbates the problem.

Groups of Eurasian Organized Crime Identified

Vory v Zadone (Thieves-in-law)

The task force reports that today's organized crime in Russia arose from four primary sources of criminality. The first is the historical Russian criminal elite known as the Vory v zakone, which is a group, comprised of common criminals predating the Soviet era, which saw even further development in the Soviet prison system. Basic requirements for membership in this group were that these individuals could not: (1) have a legitimate job; (2) cooperate with law enforcement; (3) give testimony in court; (4) have a family; and (5) serve in the military.

Nomenklatura second source of organized crime in Russia is a group comprised of corrupt members of the Communist Party, government officials, and business figures known as the 'nomenklatura'. This specific group are still in place and still continue to perpetuate the corruption and criminality in Russia.

Ethnic and National Groups

Comprising the third group of organized crime are the ethnic and national groups including the Chechens, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Dagestanis, Georgians, and Ingush, who are active in Russian and throughout Central Eurasia and outside the Commonwealth of Independent States as well. This is the most violent of all the criminal groups.

Avtorieti (Authorities)

The fourth and largest organized crime groups is comprised by criminal associations which are based on maintaining control of geographical sectors or a specific activity of organized crime and even on share experiences. These groups are considered to be gangs and are called the 'avtoriteti', which means 'authorities'. The task force states that it is important to note that these organized crime groups are not ethnically-based and that the U.S. government does not have a good understanding of these groups. This problem is not unique however to the post-Cold War period but in actually was ongoing during the period between 1917 and 1991 in Russia. Stated to be the real breeding ground for the surging criminality in contemporary Russia was "74 years of the indulgence of quack economics wedding to totalitarian politics..." (Russian Organized Crime, nd)

Identified by FBI as Threat in the U.S. (Present and Future) - Vory v Zadone

The testimony of Grant D. Ashley, Assistant Director, Criminal Investigative Division of the FBI relates that in 1991: "...the U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles charged 13 defendants in a $1 billion false medical billing scheme that was headed by two Russian emigre brothers. On September 20, 1994, the alleged ringleader was sentenced to 21 years in prison for fraud, conspiracy, racketeering, and money laundering. He was also ordered to forfeit $50 million in assets, pay more than $41 million in restitution to government agencies and insurance companies victimized by the scheme." (2003) Ashley relates that the first Eurasian organized crime investigation of a significant nature involved a major underworld figure in the United States and specifically, Vyacheslav Ivankov who is a powerful Eurasian organized crime boss. Ashley states that Ivankov "...led an international criminal organization that operated in numerous cities in Europe, Canada, and the United States, chiefly New York, London, Toronto, Vienna, Budapest, and Moscow. The investigation was initiated in 1993 after the FBI was alerted to Ivankov's presence in the United States by the Russian Ministry of the Interior (MVD)" (2003) According to Ashley, Ivankov and five other individuals were arrest by the FBI in June, 1994 and in June 1996 Ivankov was convicted on several counts of extortion and conspiracy. In 1997, Ivankov was sentenced to serve 115 months incarcerated and a five-year period of probation by the Eastern District of New York. The roots of organized crime in the Unites States is stated by the FBI to "lie with the 'Vory V Zakone' or 'thieves-in-law' career criminals. These groups and their criminal activities "cause hundreds of million of dollars in looses to U.S. businesses, investors and taxpayers through sophisticated fraud schemes and public corruption." (FBI: Organized Crime, nd)

The work entitled: "Organized Crime in California: 2005 Annual Report to the California Legislature" relates that criminal groups "that originated from the 15 republics that once made up the former Soviet Union are commonly referred to as Russian Organized Crime (ROC) groups by law enforcement authorities and the media. Most of the people who engage in organized crime in the former Soviet Union are not typically ethnic Russian, but they are from regions which commonly spoke the language and were dominated by Russia for generations." (State of California, 2006) the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) states that approximately 200,000 former Soviet Union citizens immigrated to the United States in order to escape religious and political persecution. It is also said to be suspected that "the KGB emptied their prisons of hardcore criminals and exported them to this country; much like Cuban dictator Fidel Castro did during the 'Mariel boat-lift'. Many former Soviet Union emigres that came to the United States settled in an area of New York known as Brighton Beach. As of this date, Brighton Beach is the hub of the EOC in the country." (State of California, 2006) Eurasian organized crime groups have been attempting to achieve money and power and have toward this end "established the patterns of criminal activity throughout the major cities of this country." (State of California, 2006)

The Eurasian criminal groups on the East and West Coast are in cooperation and communication with one another as well as being in contact with the Eurasian organized crime groups in the former Soviet Union. These groups have aligned themselves with other criminal organizations and formed sophisticated and lucrative enterprises through operating via international networks. The California report states that the State of California is a "major target for auto thieves, because of the numerous automobile auction centers. At the auction centers, insurance companies often recover stolen vehicles or damaged vehicles that can be purchased legally with valid Vehicle Identification Numbers. Investigators often recover vehicles that have been stolen for parts only. In this situation, the thieves dissemble the vehicle, being careful not to damage body parts. According to the California Highway Patrol (CHP) the thieves hide all the stripped parts at a local storage facility and begin to track the recovered shell." (State of California, 2006) Involved in the conspiracy are automotive body shops who reconstruct the vehicles after they have been purchased at auction centers. The crime groups take these vehicles out of state and re-register the vehicle in a manner that is to "clear or wash the salvaged title." (State of California, 2006 State of California, 2006) According to the report, approximately 10% of these vehicles are never located. Authorities state a belief that these vehicles are shipped in containers to other countries "anywhere from Mexico to Moscow." (Ashley, 2003) the report relates that law enforcement authorities in Northern California "have noticed an increase in the amount of stolen vehicles form places like Sacramento being transported to port cities such as Oakland. These stolen vehicles are shipped overseas where they can sell for three times the value of car." (Ashley, 2003)

Authorities report that they arrested members of the Eurasian criminal enterprise who were involved in a major merchandise ring involving stolen goods early in 2005. This particular criminal cell committed the offense of returning stolen merchandise to department stores with forged receipts. This operation began along the border of California and Mexico and ran up the coast to Los Angeles targeting 12 stores each day. People outside of the ring of criminals were recruited for returning stolen merchandise to the stores with receipts and debit cards that had been forged. The individual who was the leader of this ring is reported to have also been arrested about ten years ago for the same crime. Another area of fraud that continues to "be a profitable field for EOC criminals." (Ashley, 2003) the arrest of EOC members is March, 2006 is reported for involvement in a Medi-Cal fraud ring "operating in Los Angeles, Glendale, and Pasadena from 1997 to 2005. The crime ring bilked more than $20 million from Medicare by operating medical clinics and laboratories that paid for patient referrals and then billed Medicare for tests that were unnecessary or not performed at all." (State of California, 2006) These groups are seen as being experts at white-collar crime commission including money-laundering and fraud and are "becoming increasingly more creative in their efforts to launder money. Not only do they funnel money through their legitimate businesses, but they also use shell companies to accomplish their goal. Shell companies are fictitious and legitimate businesses used most often for criminal activity such as laundering money and immigration fraud. Oftentimes, the fictitious businesses use an apartment for a business location. However, they sometimes only exist on paper using a suite number to give the appearance of a legitimate commercial building address." (State of California, 2006) the criminals of the EOC are "masters at fraud and have been described as always having on foot in the criminal underworld and one foot in legitimate business world. It is this blend that makes it difficult to detect when a crime is taking place." (State of California, 2006)

The report relates additionally that a great deal of money, in fact, billions of U.S. dollars in criminal takings are "being transferred to accounts overseas and within the United States. There are concerns that these fraudulent funds will be used to further finance criminal activities in the United States." (State of California, 2006) These EOC networks work in organized alien smuggling schemes using fraudulent visa petitions and border crossing and it has been learned by law enforcement authorities that the EOC networks "established shell corporations in California to facilitate the illegal movement of money, and people as well." (State of California, 2006) an official from the UN explaining why the EOC groups are involved in trafficking of people stated: "Trafficking in human beings is like investing in bonds. The money can keep coming in for years and years, and the risks are much lower." (State of California, 2006)

White slavery in Russian and Eastern Europe as well as prostitution of women has become a problem that is significant for law enforcement in California as the EOC imports women and children "from eastern Europe and Russia with falsified visa applications and obtain false California drivers' licenses and other identification using counterfeit documents. Many are coming into the United States through Mexico into Southern California." (State of California, 2006) Women who are taken and forced into this rings are forced to prostitute and provide escort services, strip clubs, and massage parlors. While some are willing employed in this industry for money and to escape extreme poverty, others are forced "through indentured servitude. These women are threatened and beaten into submission. The EOC groups that bring them into the United States confiscate their visas and force them to pay off their travel debt, which they are rarely able to do." (State of California, 2006) in the 'Analysis and Trends' section of the State of California report it is related that the EOC "identifies and utilizes weaknesses, regulations, and policies regarding INS entitlement programs, and law enforcement to illegally extract money from the programs." (State of California, 2006) Additionally related is that "investigators will find multiple layers of ill-gotten gains in any criminal activity that EOC is involved in." (State of California, 2006) the example cited is that EOC members "might bring in illegal aliens (collecting a smuggling fee from them) assist them in receiving welfare and other benefits (receiving a percentage of the government money) and then employing them in criminal activity that benefits the EOC trafficker." (State of California, 2006) Mail drop and residential addresses are used extensively by the EOC in establishing a legitimate appearance for the purpose of "...immigration fraud, money laundering operations, and receipt of government assistance documents." (State of California, 2006) Upon the EOC group determining that an investigation is being conducted against them simply shuts down in one area and moving to another to perpetrate the same crime.

A report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation report (1996) before the House Committee on International Relations - Hearing on Russian Organized Crime states the fact that: "Grave crime is no longer bound by the constraints of borders. Such offenses as terrorism, nuclear smuggling, organized crime, computer crime, and drug trafficking can spill over from other countries into the United States. Regardless of origin, these and other overseas crimes impact directly on our citizens and our economy." (1996 Congressional Hearings, Intelligence and Security) Additionally stated in the FBI report is: "The political, social, and economic changes occurring in Eastern Europe and in the former Soviet Republics have provided significant, unintended opportunities for organized crime groups and criminal enterprises in these countries to expand internationally. Evidence that organized crime activity from these areas is expanding and will continue to expand to the United States is well-documented. These criminal enterprises are not a new phenomenon to Russia. They existed under Communism." (1996 Congressional Hearings, Intelligence and Security) Unfortunately, following the decline of Communism in the Soviet Union "...appropriate legal tools were not created to control organized crime and corruption activities. When Communism declined in the Soviet Union, the organized crime groups quickly expanded their influence in the emerging move toward Capitalism, again because sufficient constraints and law enforcement tools were not present. The FBI has many years of successful investigative and prosecutorial experience in the battle with La Cosa Nostra and other organized crime groups here in the United States. We view organized crime as a continuing criminal conspiracy having a firm organizational structure, a conspiracy fed by fear and corruption." (1996 Congressional Hearings, Intelligence and Security) the Congressional Hearings, Intelligence and Security Report relates that the above-stated definition can be applied to the threat of organized crime threatening not only Russia but other countries as well. It is stated that these organized crime members in Russia can be found "...at every level of society. Organized crime activity in Russia includes monetary speculation, manipulation of the banking system, and embezzlement of state property, as well as contract murder, extortion, drug trafficking, prostitution, protection rackets, and infiltration of legitimate business activity. To make matters worse, a number of Russian/Eurasian organized crime groups and criminal enterprises presently operate in the U.S. Many of these criminal enterprises active in the U.S. have demonstrated a willingness to work in close concert with other non-Russian/non-Eurasian organized crime groups." (1996 Congressional Hearings, Intelligence and Security)

The work entitled: "Russian Organized Crime" published by the Center for International Strategic Studies (1997) states that the FBI states that the following characteristics typically are associated with organized crime groups: (1) their illegal activities are conspiratorial; (2) the commit or threaten to commit acts of violence or intimidation; (3) their activities are methodical, systematic, or disciplined or secret; (4) they insulate their leadership from direct involvement in illegal activities through an intricate bureaucracy; (5) they attempt to influence government, politics, and commerce through corruption, graft and legitimate means; and (6) their primary goal is economic gain, not only form patently illegal enterprises, such as extortion, drugs, gambling, and loan sharking, but also from such activities as laundering illegal money through and investment in legitimate business." (1997) it was acknowledged at the ending of the Cold War that Russian Organized Crime (ROC) if left unchecked would evolve into a "criminal-syndicalist state - a troika comprised of gangsters, corrupt government bureaucrats, and certain crooked and sometimes prominent businessmen who continue to accumulate vast amounts of wealth by promoting and exploiting corruption and the vulnerabilities inherent in a society in transition." (Center for International Strategic Studies, 1997) it was further acknowledged that "not sector of Russian society is immune from the effects of the ROC" as the ROC is "a major force in shaping the post-Soviet political, economic, and social development of Russia." (Center for International Strategic Studies, 1997) Organized Eurasian crime has well taken advantage of both privatization and economic reform "to enjoy exponential growth and acquire untold wealth and influence." (Center for International Strategic Studies, 1997) the task force in this reports making specific assumptions concerning the problem presented by organized crime in Russia which includes the assumption that "the problem is not the 'mafia' as a separate entity; instead, it is the emergence of a situation in which separate OC groups are only one element of a larger phenomenon of the interpretation of crime, business, and government." (Center for International Strategic Studies, 1997)

The work entitled: "Crime Without Punishment" published in the Economist (1999) relates that a money-laundering scandal in New York has confirmed the interwoveness of organized crime into the life of Russia and that this organized crime is beginning to infect the world-at-large. In this report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) states that in excess of $500 million each year is money that has been laundered. The Economist reported in 1997 in the work entitled: "Redfellas: Organized Crime" that an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration has shown that "cocaine has been shipped from Ecuador to Florida via St. Petersburg, Russia by Russian organized crime groups which are also involved in illegal gambling, arms sales and prostitution. The work entitled: "Russian-Organized Crime Groups Pose Threat to U.S. Business" published in 2000 relates that the U.S. And Russian governments are in the midst of a probe as to whether $7 billion was laundered through the Bank of New York by Russian clients which has highlighted the "need for companies to protection themselves from infiltration by the Russian mob." (O'Dwyer's PR Services Report, 2000) the FBI stats that 35 Russian Crime groups were operating in the United States as of 2000 and this is only a portion of the 200 organized crime groups operating in Russia as of this report. Another report published by the Economist in 1997 relates the fact that the Chicago Crime Commission states: "...organized crime has gone through many of the same changes of corporation America. Today's crime syndicates, like the Fortune 500, are leaner, more global, more technically sophisticated -- "and more profitable -- "than they have ever been." (the Economist, 1997) Illegal money laundering is not the only operations of the Eurasian crime groups according to a U.S. News & World Report (1997) Russian women answering want ads have been promised jobs modeling and other careers abroad and instead have been sold into prostitution. The work of Albini and Rogers (1998) proposes solution to the organized crime problem in Russian stating that: "There are several elements in controlling the prevalence of organized crime in Russia. Mandatory procedures include establishing laws that permit arrest and conviction of groups, frustrating or slowing money laundering schemes, and establishing a version of the Federal Witness Security Program. A majority of Russian citizens must believe these changes are possible and work to make them happen." (U.S. News & World Report, 1997)

The work entitled: The Links Between Organized Crime and Terrorism in Eurasian Nuclear Smuggling" (2005) relates: "At a recent Kennan Institute talk, Louise Shelley, Director, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center, American University, and former Title VIII-Supported Research Scholar, Kennan Institute; and Robert Orttung, Associate Research Professor, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center, American University, and former Title VIII-Supported Short-Term Scholar, Kennan Institute, argued that there is a fatal flaw in most U.S. programs designed to safeguard nuclear materials in the former Soviet Union. Such programs, according to Shelley, focus exclusively on the technical aspects -- "such as locks and security systems -- "of safeguarding nuclear materials. Although these technical safeguards are important, Shelley contended that we need to pay more attention to the complex criminal and terrorist networks that have the desire and ability to gain access to nuclear materials." (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 2005) Because of this fact, it is critical that the United States and other countries throughout the world carefully follow the events in Russia. Shelley states that "the greatest threat to post-Soviet nuclear security is no longer under-paid scientists selling their skills to the highest bidder. Much more dangerous today are the connections between the corrupt officials who have access to nuclear materials, the criminal groups that already control transit networks for drugs and other illegal goods, and the terrorist groups that want to acquire nuclear materials." (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 2005) These connections have been formed, according to Shelley, "when criminals and terrorists have been improvised together in European jails." Unlike traditional, national mafia groups...criminals groups in the former Soviet Union are not averse to working with terrorists, and often the two groups feel that they have common enemies." (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 2005)

Shelley relates that Orttung described how many of the "complex networks through which nuclear materials may pass from storage facilities in Russia into the hands of terrorists groups, based on research on closed nuclear cities in Chelyabinsk oblast. He explained that the region is on a major drug trafficking route, and drug dealers inside of closed cities have connections to Tajik drug groups, which in turn may be connected to terrorist groups. Released convicts living in the closed cities, as well as corrupt employees of the nuclear plant, may have the incentive and the ability to sell nuclear materials to local and transnational criminal groups, potentially taking advantage of transport conduits such as conscript soldiers who guard the closed cities or criminalized taxi and construction groups. Finally, nuclear plants in Chelyabinsk oblast have many Tatar and Bashkir employees, whose families living outside of the closed city are targeted by recruiters for Islamic extremist groups that may have an interest in acquiring nuclear materials. Small quantities of stolen nuclear materials -- "probably intended for terrorist groups hoping to build dirty bombs -- "have been intercepted at a great distance from Russian nuclear plants, primarily in the South Caucasus, Shelley said. She argued that this leads to the disturbing conclusion that some stolen material has likely not been caught. There are a number of factors that facilitate nuclear smuggling in the South Caucasus, according to Shelley, including: lack of state control in separatist regions, cooperation among established smuggling networks and criminal and terrorist groups, high rates of poverty that drive many people into illicit activities, a large shadow economy, porous borders, and inexperienced and corrupt law enforcement. Shelley concluded that it is vital to understand all of the factors involved in nuclear smuggling in the region if we hope to keep nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorist groups." (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 2005)

The work of Jason Soderbloom entitled: "Eurasia's Organized and Transnational Organized Crime" (2005) states: "James O. Finckenauer and Yuri a. Voronin comment that in the United States (U.S.) as in Russia, there is no universally accepted definition of 'organized crime'. In major part this is because Russian law (like U.S. law) provides no legal definition of organized crime. Accordingly the UN definition of organized crime is a much welcomed arrival." (Soderbloom, 2005) on November 15, 2000 the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNCATOC) was adopted by the UN General Assembly. Article 1 of the UNCATOC provides a definition for organized crime groups as "a structured group of three or more persons, existing for a long period of time and acting in concert with the aim of committing one or more serious crimes or offenses established in accordance with this Convention (the UNCATOC) in order to obtained directly or indirectly a financial or other material benefit." (Soderbloom, 2005) Soderbloom states that Article 2(b) of the UNCATOC defines a 'serious crime' as "Constituting of an offense punishable by a maximum deprivation of liberty of at least four years or a more serious penalty." (Soderbloom, 2005) Soderbloom (2005) states that "the crimes of illicit drugs trafficking, munitions trafficking, mass vehicle thefts, trafficking in women and children and money laundering are all likely to satisfy the definition of serious crime. These crimes routinely carry four years or more imprisonment in national courts. Likewise the (illegal) trade in chemical, biological and nuclear weapons technology poses a serious global security threat, and constitutes a 'serious' crime." (Soderbloom, 2005)

In a Eurasian (Transnational Organized Crime) Assessment, Soderbloom (2005) writes that Eurasian TOC poses "a security concern to regions outside of Eurasia. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for instance sees Azerbaijan as transit point for Southwest Asian opiates bound for Russia and to a lesser extent the rest of Europe." Azerbaijani also is a point of transit for crime trafficking of munitions into Iran and Georgia is stated to be a "trans-shipment point for opiates via Central Asia to West Europe and Russia." (Soderbloom, 2005) Other transit points include the following: (1) Uzebekistan and Turkmenistan - transit point for heroin precursor chemical to Afghanistan; (2) Uzbekistan - opiates are taken to Estonia en-rout to Finland; and (3) Kyrgyzstan - is a predominant area of drug-trafficking. During the time of Soviet rule states in Central Asia were kept "as one-crop economies...as a result their resident TOC has still not diversified their illicit economies beyond the drug trade." (Soderbloom, 2005) Soderbloom relates that there is evidence showing that the Russian mafia has established ties with the drug cartels of Colombia and that the mafia in Russian attempted to sell a soviet submarine to Colombia to assist the smuggle of Colombian drugs into the United States. The Eurasian TOC is believed to be more serious than any other regions in the globe for four specific reasons stated to be those as follows:

Profits from TOC in Italy and Colombia stay mostly in those countries. Whereas Post-Soviet Eurasian TOC profits are hidden in foreign banks and invested in foreign economies. Thereby, the high levels of 'capital flight' from Eurasia drain the economy there faster than occurs in other regions of the world. For instance, some reports claim that Russian mafia have poured more than $4 billion of dirty money into Israel's economy, though some estimates range as high as $20 billion;

Organized crime in Italy and Colombia can be described as sustainable organized crime. The amounts extorted for protection are certainly criminal but not exorbitant in comparison to Eurasia as they do not force businesses into bankruptcy or with so little profit that there is little incentive to continue trading. Eurasian TOC for these reasons is less disciplined than in other regions of the world;

Eurasia's illicit opportunities are different to those in Colombia and Italy. In Eurasia, nuclear, chemical, biological weapons and related scientific knowledge and equipment are smuggled in and around the region. By 1998 in Russia alone, 46 military generals, and 3,000 officers were to be court marshaled on corruption charges and for smuggling in weapons and black market sales of munitions. In October 2001 fourteen federal and local parliamentarians and 302 bankers and twenty-one senior public servants were being investigated for their misuse of public funds; and Only Eurasian TOC has occurred in the wake of its collapsed superpower. Unlike Italy and Colombia, the Caucasus and especially Central Asian regions of Eurasia have little experience in democratic governance and capitalist markets. For this reason, attitudinal change seems more difficult to achieve. (Soderbloom, 2005)