10% of Russia under Organised Crime control

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10% of Russia under Organised Crime control

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Backgammon

Mar 15 2007, 01:28 AM

Post #1

Ain Soph Aur

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from:http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/artic...icle2359101.ece

QUOTE

Interior Ministry: 'One-tenth of Russia under criminal control'
By Andrew Osborn in Moscow
Published: 15 March 2007

A leaked speech given by Russia's most senior policeman has revealed that almost one-tenth of the world's largest country is under the control of organised crime groups who often face little or no official resistance.

According to Rashid Nurgaliyev, the head of Russia's Interior Ministry, the Russian mafia is alarmingly well established in Moscow, St Petersburg, the south of the country, and in Siberia.

"This problem poses a threat to the state, society and the economy," he warned, adding that more than 3.8 million crimes were registered in 2006, up by 8.5 per cent on 2005.

He admitted that clear-up rates were less than satisfactory and said that criminals were caught in only 46 per cent of cases.

He listed dozens of districts of Moscow and other major cities where organised crime groups posed what he called "a serious threat to the safety of the region". In many cases law enforcement authorities were doing far too little to break the mafia's stranglehold on significant swaths of the economy, he said, adding that key sectors were already in criminal hands.

According to the daily newspaper Novye Izvestia, Mr Nurgaliyev's bleak assessment of the situation effectively means that one-tenth of Russia's regions are in criminal hands; in most cases the regions are among the country's wealthiest and most promising.

Experts in organised crime said separately that up to 25 per cent of Russia's gross domestic product is generated by the black economy, much of which is under the control of organised crime groups. It is a figure which dwarfs the size of the shadow economies in western European countries which typically account for between five and 10 per cent of countries' GDPs.

Aleksei Mukhin, a specialist in organised crime, added that Russia is home to up to 10,000 criminal groups employing 300,000 people. Most are paid to protect the businesses and assets of a small number of powerful mafia leaders.

Since the 1990s many of those leaders have legitimised their businesses. They clean up their image by setting up superficially normal companies and thereby acquire a veneer of respectability.

At the same time, crime rates have fallen as mafia groups have moved to maintain law and order on their own patches. They eschew messy shoot-outs which only attract attention for backroom deals and bribes.

Mr Nurgaliyev's revelations coincide with one of President Vladimir Putin's biggest anti-corruption drives of recent years. Across the country, local politicians and regional governors have found themselves charged with embezzlement and abuse of power.

Perhaps the most high-profile victim of this purge has been Vladimir Nikolayev, mayor of the far-eastern city of Vladivostok and a member of Mr Putin's United Russia party. Earlier this month, the mayor was arrested. He already had a criminal record, for beating a local official and threatening to kill another, and boasted the underworld nickname of Winnie the Pooh. This time he has been accused of funding his bodyguards from city coffers, of using police cars for private escort duty and of using expensive charter planes for family holidays at taxpayers' expense.

Mr Nikolayev denies all the charges, insisting he has been framed. The mayor owns some of the region's biggest seafood, meat processing and timber firms and came to power in 2004 after his closest rival for the job "tripped" on a powerful grenade that had been placed outside his office days before the election.

Usually, businessmen with backgrounds as colourful as Mr Nikolayev's tend to prefer lower-profile roles. They place trusted lieutenants in important political positions in order to attract less attention.

"came to power in 2004 after his closest rival for the job "tripped" on a powerful grenade that had been placed outside his office days before the election."

HAHAHAHA

Fix-it View Member Profile	Mar 15 2007, 02:25 AM Post #2
Creating a god with his own hands Group: Members Posts: 1,405 Joined: 30-September 02 From: 0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1 Member No.: 3,364	nothing compared to the US during Prohibition.

JongWK View Member Profile	Mar 16 2007, 01:31 AM Post #3
Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,618 Joined: 29-January 03 From: Montevideo, Uruguay. Member No.: 3,992	10%? I thought it was 100% (read: Putin) ??

Fix-it View Member Profile	Mar 16 2007, 01:45 AM Post #4
Creating a god with his own hands Group: Members Posts: 1,405 Joined: 30-September 02 From: 0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1 Member No.: 3,364	no no, that's 10% organized crime, 90% old-fashioned communist hardliner.

Link View Member Profile	Mar 16 2007, 02:02 AM Post #5
Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 517 Joined: 27-August 02 From: Queensland Member No.: 3,180	A recent TV show here discussing the Polonium poisoning of that Russian dissident in London said that 75% of the parliament in Russia were previously members of the military or state security groups. In Neuromancer (or another by Gibson) the Russian government was called the 'Kombinat', sort of a commie, mafia thing as I recall. Seems it was somewhat prescient.

eidolon View Member Profile	Mar 16 2007, 01:36 PM Post #6
ghostrider Group: Retired Admins Posts: 4,196 Joined: 16-May 04 Member No.: 6,333	Only 10?

Herald of Verjig...

Mar 16 2007, 05:02 PM

Post #7

Runner

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QUOTE (eidolon)

Only 10?

Another 67% is under unorganized crime control.

Moon-Hawk View Member Profile	Mar 16 2007, 05:03 PM Post #8
Genuine Artificial Intelligence Group: Members Posts: 4,019 Joined: 12-June 03 Member No.: 4,715	Cosmo: There I was in prison. And one day I help a couple of older gentlemen make some free telephone calls. They turn out to be, let us say, good family men. Martin Bishop: Organized crime? Cosmo: Hah. Don't kid yourself. It's not that organized.

nezumi

Mar 16 2007, 05:28 PM

Post #9

Incertum est quo loco te mors expectet;

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QUOTE (eidolon)

Only 10?

10% reported. That accounts for the flashy and the stupid crooks. The rest are just much more discrete.

Kagetenshi View Member Profile	Mar 16 2007, 05:41 PM Post #10
Manus Celer Dei Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 16,898 Joined: 30-December 02 From: Boston Member No.: 3,802	The flashy and stupid crooks flow together continuously? ~J

nezumi View Member Profile	Mar 16 2007, 05:50 PM Post #11
Incertum est quo loco te mors expectet; Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 6,546 Joined: 24-October 03 From: DeeCee, U.S. Member No.: 5,760	I have no idea what you're asking. Unless the crooks are water elementals, they generally don't flow at all. Stupid and flashy are simply more likely to be noticed and reported on.

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