Wow. Organized crime in Italy is estimated to make over $200 billion a year in turnover. That's a whole lot of money.
The Mafia in Italy is well known all over the world. With the popularity of movies such as The Godfather, Good Fellas, and The Sopranos, people are generally familar with the orgins of mobsters in the United States.
However, a lot of Americans don't really know what the original crime syndicates back in Italy do. They make a lot of money working on the black market. From illegal gambling, loan sharking, counterfeit goods, human trafficking, illegal arms sales, organized crime around the world has many different revenue sources.
In addition to the activities listed above, perhaps the largest amount of money that is made by the mafia in Italy is form drug trafficking. Illegal drugs is such a huge money makers for criminals that in places like Mexico, it is basically taking over the entire country. The violence by the drug cartels to control the drug trade is causing havoc all across the country.
Crimes around the world
Monday, January 23, 2012
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Prostitution Information
Prostitution is a crime that exists all over the world. Men pay pimps and brothels to have sex with women. Many of the women who are working in the sex trade do not want to be there and are forced to have sex with as many as 10 to 15 different men each day.
Human trafficking and prostitution are closely related. Although there are some countries in the world where prostitution is legal, human trafficking is illegal everywhere. Human trafficking is called modern day slavery, because it forces women to work as sex slaves in brothels and massage parlors.
Many people feel that prostitution should be legalized. They feel that this would allow women to have more rights and be able to protect them more. Right now, because prostitution is illegal, when women get hurt during their work they can not go to the police because they are afraid of what could happen. Since they were breaking the law, they feel like they will be treated as criminals instead of as victims. And in most cases, that is the case. The criminal justice system in the United States treats prostitutes, no matter what the reason, as criminals. Even if they were forced to become prostitutes, it does not matter in the eyes of the law in America.
There are many different types of prostitution. Some women work on the streets, and the customers drive up to them. There are also brothels, which basically are places where men go to have sex. Also, there are massage parlors, which acts as a storefront. The real business is supposed to give customers a massage, but then these sex places offer what is known as a happy ending, and they charge extra for that.
Human trafficking and prostitution are closely related. Although there are some countries in the world where prostitution is legal, human trafficking is illegal everywhere. Human trafficking is called modern day slavery, because it forces women to work as sex slaves in brothels and massage parlors.
Many people feel that prostitution should be legalized. They feel that this would allow women to have more rights and be able to protect them more. Right now, because prostitution is illegal, when women get hurt during their work they can not go to the police because they are afraid of what could happen. Since they were breaking the law, they feel like they will be treated as criminals instead of as victims. And in most cases, that is the case. The criminal justice system in the United States treats prostitutes, no matter what the reason, as criminals. Even if they were forced to become prostitutes, it does not matter in the eyes of the law in America.
There are many different types of prostitution. Some women work on the streets, and the customers drive up to them. There are also brothels, which basically are places where men go to have sex. Also, there are massage parlors, which acts as a storefront. The real business is supposed to give customers a massage, but then these sex places offer what is known as a happy ending, and they charge extra for that.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Illicit arms trafficking
When the Soviet Union fell, the military was left with millions and millions of guns and weapons. It was just sitting in the stockpiles of old military warehouses. Criminals figured out how they can buy these weapons for cheap and sell them on the black market. This led to a huge increase in arms trafficking after the cold war and the effects are still being felt today.
The arms traffickers did not care who they were selling the firearms too. They sold a bunch to corrupt dictators in Africa, and the also sold it to rebels who were fighting the corrupt dictators. They also sold it to people regardless of their political motivation or agenda. All they cared about was making money.
This link has some good statistics and information on the arms trafficking industry around the world. Be sure to read it if you want a better understanding of this issue.
The arms traffickers did not care who they were selling the firearms too. They sold a bunch to corrupt dictators in Africa, and the also sold it to rebels who were fighting the corrupt dictators. They also sold it to people regardless of their political motivation or agenda. All they cared about was making money.
This link has some good statistics and information on the arms trafficking industry around the world. Be sure to read it if you want a better understanding of this issue.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Value of the illegal economy
Today, I want to continue my previous post about the illegal economy. Last week, I touched upon the basics of various criminal industries that are taking place around the world, and today I want to further your knowledge with some additional statistics and data.
Regarding the prostitution trade, the data shows that up to $187 billion is spent on sexual services each year around the world. As previously mentioned, China is number one. In addition, there are several countries where prostitution is not illegal. The places where it is already legal include Germany, Switzerland, and Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
Regarding the black market drugs, the United Nations reported in their World Drug Report that over $300 billion is spent on illegal drugs all over the world. To the surprise of no one, marijuana is the most popular drug in the world, with over $140 billion spent on the drug. 164 million people smoked marijuana at least once during the year reported.
I also previous mentioned that counterfeit goods causes losses of over $250 billion in the United States. Worldwide, the losses are much higher, with estimates placing the losses over $500 to $600 billion losses. Counterfeit drugs alone causes economic damages of $200 billion.
It is clear that there is much at stake in this battle against worldwide crime. Stay tuned and keep coming back as we dive further into these issues.
Regarding the prostitution trade, the data shows that up to $187 billion is spent on sexual services each year around the world. As previously mentioned, China is number one. In addition, there are several countries where prostitution is not illegal. The places where it is already legal include Germany, Switzerland, and Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
Regarding the black market drugs, the United Nations reported in their World Drug Report that over $300 billion is spent on illegal drugs all over the world. To the surprise of no one, marijuana is the most popular drug in the world, with over $140 billion spent on the drug. 164 million people smoked marijuana at least once during the year reported.
I also previous mentioned that counterfeit goods causes losses of over $250 billion in the United States. Worldwide, the losses are much higher, with estimates placing the losses over $500 to $600 billion losses. Counterfeit drugs alone causes economic damages of $200 billion.
It is clear that there is much at stake in this battle against worldwide crime. Stay tuned and keep coming back as we dive further into these issues.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Bad side of the global economy
The international crime industry is very large. Police agencies around the world estimate that billions and billions of dollars is spent on the black market every year. The United Nations publishes reports almost monthly that demonstrates how bad the problem is.
There are various aspects of the international black market. One aspect of the underground economy is prostitution. In many countries around the world, prostitution is illegal to undertake. However, that has not prevented people from participating in the activity. Thousands upon thousands of men around the world use the services of a prostitute every day. In surveys of the industry, it is estimated that China has the largest prostitution market in terms of revenue, followed by Spain, Japan, the legal industry of Germany and the United States to close out the top five. There are many different sides to this issue. Some non-governmental organizations argue that the sex trade should be legalized. The arguments in favor of legalization is due to the fact that if it was legal, them women would be afforded more protection under the law. Their customers would no longer be able to treat them in harmful ways and that they would have legal rights.
Another big black market around the world is the trafficking of illegal drugs. The illegal drug trade also have billions of dollars involved in it. A big portion of the revenue in drug trafficking involves cocaine. Cocaine is grown and produced in the country of Colombia. From there, it is moved secretly across Central America and into Mexico. The drug cartels in Mexico take control of the product and then smuggle it into the United States. In America, the cocaine is broken up to thousands of street dealer around the nation who then sells it on the black market.
Similar to prostitution, there are many who argue that drugs should be legalized. If it was legalized, then the organized crime syndicates who control the trade would no longer be able to make money. They wouldn't use guns and other types of deadly weapons to conduct business. And governments around the world would be able to gain a new form of tax revenue by taxing the drugs at a high rate. Some states in the USA have already started doing this. Marijuana in 16 states have become legalized for medical purposes. That means that customers who have a doctors prescription can purchase marijuana legally from stores. These stores have contributed to the tax revenues in states like California and Colorado.
The final type of illegal economy that I would like to comment on is the selling of counterfeit goods. This is a criminal market that copies the work of real products and simply makes copies off of that original work. A company could spend years designing a product and have it copied immediately. The counterfeiters simply create the same look as the original and sells it off as the real thing.
In recent years, it has become very difficult for police to determine if product is fake. The production value of the counterfeiters has improved so much that it looks almost identical to the legitimate item. Thus, now many multinational companies are starting to lose revenue due to the counterfeit industry. Estimates place the annual losses to be over $250 billion.
The are just some of the black markets in the world.
There are various aspects of the international black market. One aspect of the underground economy is prostitution. In many countries around the world, prostitution is illegal to undertake. However, that has not prevented people from participating in the activity. Thousands upon thousands of men around the world use the services of a prostitute every day. In surveys of the industry, it is estimated that China has the largest prostitution market in terms of revenue, followed by Spain, Japan, the legal industry of Germany and the United States to close out the top five. There are many different sides to this issue. Some non-governmental organizations argue that the sex trade should be legalized. The arguments in favor of legalization is due to the fact that if it was legal, them women would be afforded more protection under the law. Their customers would no longer be able to treat them in harmful ways and that they would have legal rights.
Another big black market around the world is the trafficking of illegal drugs. The illegal drug trade also have billions of dollars involved in it. A big portion of the revenue in drug trafficking involves cocaine. Cocaine is grown and produced in the country of Colombia. From there, it is moved secretly across Central America and into Mexico. The drug cartels in Mexico take control of the product and then smuggle it into the United States. In America, the cocaine is broken up to thousands of street dealer around the nation who then sells it on the black market.
Similar to prostitution, there are many who argue that drugs should be legalized. If it was legalized, then the organized crime syndicates who control the trade would no longer be able to make money. They wouldn't use guns and other types of deadly weapons to conduct business. And governments around the world would be able to gain a new form of tax revenue by taxing the drugs at a high rate. Some states in the USA have already started doing this. Marijuana in 16 states have become legalized for medical purposes. That means that customers who have a doctors prescription can purchase marijuana legally from stores. These stores have contributed to the tax revenues in states like California and Colorado.
The final type of illegal economy that I would like to comment on is the selling of counterfeit goods. This is a criminal market that copies the work of real products and simply makes copies off of that original work. A company could spend years designing a product and have it copied immediately. The counterfeiters simply create the same look as the original and sells it off as the real thing.
In recent years, it has become very difficult for police to determine if product is fake. The production value of the counterfeiters has improved so much that it looks almost identical to the legitimate item. Thus, now many multinational companies are starting to lose revenue due to the counterfeit industry. Estimates place the annual losses to be over $250 billion.
The are just some of the black markets in the world.
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