EURISC şi…crima organizată

Liderul EURISC, Liviu Mureşan, mi-a trimis EURISComments4, despre G20 şi crima organizată, un punct de vedere pe care l-a prezentat la Bruxelles şi pe care-l inserez aici, spre informarea celor interesaţi de această problematică.

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The Rise of a New G20 Member –
Organised Crime

1. The extent to which organised crime has publicized its existence has varied over the
years, but recent examples suggest that the expression “sunlight is the best disinfectant” no
longer holds true.

This is evident in instances where elements of organised crime have, discreetly
or otherwise, pierced their own shroud of secrecy and re-entered public sight. As recently as the
Fukushima nuclear incident, the Japanese Yakuza took to the streets to provide tangible relief to
refugees and struggling persons, distributing critical supplies by the truckload and opening their
offices even to foreigners in need of shelter. Quite recently, the crime groups in the Italian
peninsula, suffused with billions of dollars in liquidities, have been dubbed Italy’s largest
“bank”. The dearth of outside finance has allowed them to engage in predatory lending with
hundreds of thousands of businesses, a profitable activity which, apparently, may lead to the
capture of 7% of Italian national output, in current estimates. However, one man’s loan-sharking
is another man’s high-risk, short-term loan. If one discounts the way in which these funds were
obtained, their actions resemble what a heavily opportunistic legal capitalist would have done. In
various countries, such as Mexico, itself a G20 member, crime groups routinely attempt to
subvert local governments and influence thousands of civil servants and political figures to act in
their favour. These manipulations can become so brazen that the criminal group can even be
considered a political organisation or party, financing campaigns and becoming adept at
influencing results without resorting to outright bribery.

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