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1 1 (February 15, 2017)

handle is hein.crs/govcezt0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 01;0i E~$~ & Updated February 15, 2017 Transnational Crime Issues: Global Trends Overview Transnational organized crime (TOC) is perceived by many to have evolved into a significant and potentially growing global issue with political, economic, and security implications. According to U.S. government reports, TOC groups may be involved in the * accumulation of wealth, both from illegal activities as well as investments in legitimate business; * commission of acts of violence, intimidation, and threats; * penetration, co-optation, and weakening of state institutions and governance capacity; * acquisition of power and influence in government, politics, and commerce through corruption and other means; * exploitation of world financial systems through subversion, manipulation, and distortions of the global markets and economy; and * facilitation of terrorist financing and travel. Both the nature of TOC and the national security implications associated with it are widely seen to be expanding, diversifying, and destabilizing. Since 2009, TOC has featured in the Intelligence Community's annual Worldwide Threats Assessment to Congress. In 2016, for example, then-Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper identified TOC as among the top eight global threats in his annual congressional testimony. On February 9, 2017, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order (E.O.) on Enforcing Federal Law with Respect to Transnational Criminal Organizations and Preventing International Trafficking. The E.O. prioritizes federal law enforcement responses to TOC, including international cooperation. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), TOC groups around the world derive their most significant source of revenue from illegal drugs, accounting for approximately 50% of TOC proceeds. Major types of illicit drugs trafficked around the globe include cocaine, produced entirely in South America; heroin produced in Southwest and Southeast Asia as well as Mexico; cannabis, produced in nearly all countries worldwide; methamphetamine and other synthetic substances; and new psychotropic substances, which are designer synthetics that are not yet under international control but produce effects similar to prohibited drugs. Intellectual property theft refers to the unauthorized transfer of proprietary or corporate information and material. It includes product counterfeiting, a type of consumer fraud in which items are sold to consumers, purporting to be something they are not, and which includes imitations of popular and trusted brand names. Intellectual property theft also encompasses intrusions into corporate and proprietary computer networks in order to obtain copies of movies, music, and video games, as well as proprietary designs of high-tech devices and manufacturing processes. Trafficking in persons, or human trafficking, refers to the subjection of men, women, and children to compelled service for the purposes of exploitation. Examples of human trafficking include trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation, including that of children; forced labor, including bonded labor, involuntary domestic servitude, and forced child labor; and the unlawful recruitment and use of child soldiers. In 2012, the International Labor Organization estimated that some 20.9 million men, women, and children around the world were subjected to forced labor, including trafficking, debt bondage, and slavery-like conditions. Human smuggling refers to the clandestine movement or attempted transportation of people and the use of false identities to facilitate travel of such persons across an international border, in violation of one or more countries' laws. Such activities may involve the use of vendors of fraudulent identity and travel documents and criminal groups with local expertise in exploiting porous borders. Smugglers may move criminals, fugitives, terrorist, and trafficking victims, as well as economic migrants. According to UNODC, major transnational flows of migrant smuggling have historically included Latin American migrants to North America and African migrants to Europe. A more recent flow to Europe, spurred by the displacement of civilians from conflict zones in the Middle East and North Africa, is both an opportunity for smugglers and an escalating challenge for authorities. Crimes involving illicit exploitation of natural resources include wildlife trafficking, timber trafficking, illicit trade in marine resources, and toxic waste dumping. Crimes related to illegal wildlife reportedly generate billions of dollars each year, a source of funds that may fuel instability and finance armed groups, particularly in Africa. Asian demand for illegal wildlife has increased in recent years, raising concerns about species conservation amid heightened poaching rates. The markup on wildlife products is most pronounced in Asia, and Asian criminal groups .O 'T - , gnom ggmm , q rq\\ 'S a X 11LULANJILiN,

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