Hosted Webinars

2023

March 7, 2023

Disrupting Hubs of Illicit Trade: Policy Recommendations and Industry Solutions

This virtual event was the third in a series of webinars from the Hubs of Illicit Trade (HIT) project that focuses on four hotspots (Dubai, Central America, the Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay tri-border area, and Ukraine) and different types of illicit trades, including natural resources, counterfeits, excise goods, drugs, arms, and human trafficking. Not only does illicit trade have enormous impacts on government revenues and the well-being of society, but it also negatively affects legitimate businesses across all industries and sectors. This panel discussion launched a multi-sector dialogue to address criminal convergence and commonalities across hubs of illicit trade. A new cross-sector approach is critical for disrupting these hubs by tackling their interconnected nature and finding points of convergence between the most affected industries. The webinar panelists discussed their innovative cross-cutting work in this area, focusing on best practices, industry solutions, and good examples of joint initiatives to combat illicit trade. This discussion also provided new insights into policy recommendations and helped enhance our understanding of the common issues and challenges facing the public and private sectors. Addressing these issues together is key to effectively disrupt hubs of illicit trades at the global and regional levels.

Speakers
Monica Ramirez: Global Director, Corporate Affairs, Regulatory and Public Policy
Jerry Cook: VP Government and Trade Relations, HanesBrands, Inc.
Adrian Cheek: Threat Researcher and former UK Law Enforcement Officer

DATE: March 7, 2023
TIME: 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM, EST

Click here for the slide deck

Click here for the video


February 9, 2023

Summit for Democracy (S4D) Working Group (WG) on Kleptocracy and Illicit Finance Dialogue

Date: February 9, 2023
Time: 8:45 AM to 12 PM, EST

Click here for the program and here for the flyer.

Click here for the video.

Click here for the TraCCC-AITI Co-Chairs’ Statements.

Click here for the Final Report.

Dialogue II: Investigating and Prosecuting Kleptocrats and Complicit Enablers

Co-Hosted: TraCCC-AITI, Brookings Institution, Coalition for Integrity

Opening Keynote Session:

  • Brendan T Boundy, U.S. Deputy Coordinator for Global Anti-Corruption, Department of State
  • Ambassador Norm Eisen (Ret.), Co-Chair, S4D Democracy Cohort for Financial Transparency and Integrity, Brookings Institution
  • Dr. Louise I Shelley, Director, Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC), George Mason University

Chair: David M. Luna, Co-Director, Anti-Illicit Trade Institute (AITI), TraCCC, GMU

Session 1: Strengthening Cooperation to Investigate Kleptocracies and Seizing Assets

Moderator: Jim Wright, AML Instructor; Former Financial Advisor, U.S. Treasury OTA

Panelists: 

  • Debra LaPrevotte, Senior Investigator, The Sentry; Former Supervisory Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), DOJ
  • David Lewis, Former Executive Secretary, Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Managing Director, Global Head of AML Advisory, Forensic Investigations and Intelligence, Kroll
  • Drew Sullivan, Co-Founder and Publisher, Organized Crime and Corruption Report Project (OCCRP)

Session 2: Judicial Action, Information-Sharing and Prosecutions

Moderator: Jonathan J. Rusch, Director, U.S. and International Anti-Corruption Law Program and Adjunct Professor, Washington College of Law American University; Former Federal Prosecutor, Fraud Section, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice

 Panelists: 

  • Mary Butler, Chief of the International Unit of the DOJ Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, U.S. Department of Justice
  • Jeffrey Coleman, Supervisory Special Agent, FBI (assigned to the International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre)
  • Tess Davis, Executive Director, Antiquities Coalition

Session 3: Defending the Defenders and Collective Action

Moderator: Shruti Shah, President & CEO, Coalition for Integrity

Panelists: 

  • Jen Lewis, Deputy Executive Director, Anticorruption Task Force, USAID
  • Samantha Feinstein, Government Accountability Project  
  • Gypsy Guillén Kaiser, Committee to Protect Journalists  
  • Khadija Sharife, Senior Investigator, OCCRP

Discussion and Closing Session

Chair: Dr. Layla Hashemi, TraCCC, GMU Strategic Observation and Intervention by Frank Vogl, Board Chair, Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF)


2022

November 30, 2022

Hubs of Illicit Trade: Crime Convergence and the Enabling Environment

Across today’s economies, supply chains, and online marketplaces, illicit trade remains a pernicious threat that has enormous costs for governments, businesses, and communities. A significant proportion of the trafficking in illicit goods and contraband can be traced to an interlinked network of routes, financial safe havens, and trade hubs that not only enable illicit economies, corruption, and money laundering, but also help fuel greater insecurity and instability across borders. Based on our new research on illicit trade hubs in Dubai, Central America, and the Tri-Border Area (Brazil/Argentina/Paraguay), this event used case studies to examine the impacts of crime convergence and the enabling environment on the facilitation of illicit trade and new criminal threats that multiply harms across regions.

Speakers

  • Dr. Christian Vianna de Azevedo: Under Secretary of Justice and Public Security for Intelligence, Joint Operations and Integration, Department of Justice and Public Security in the State of Minas Gerais – Brazil
  • Daniel Rico: Founder and General Director, C-Análisis
  • Dr. Rashmi Singh: Associate Professor, PUC Minas, Brazil; co-founder and co-director, Research Network on Terrorism, Radicalization and Transnational Crime (TRAC); Coordinator, Laboratory for Research and Projects in International Relations, PUC Minas
  • Dr. Yulia Krylova: Research Scholar, TraCCC; Data Analyst, World Bank Group
    Jorge Lasmar (moderator): Dean of Post-Graduate Studies, Professor of International Law, Faculdades Milton Campos, Brazil (Moderator)
  • Dr. Jorge Lasmar (moderator): Professor, PUC Minas, Brazil; co-founder and co-director TRAC; CEO Agama BT; Director of Legal Affairs of the International Association for Security and Intelligence Studies (INASIS), Regional Coordinator of the Terrorism Research Network (TRI)

TIME: 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM, EST

Click here for the video

Click here for the slides

For more information about the project, see our Hubs of Illicit Trade page.


June 14, 2022

Hubs of Illicit Trade–Launch Meeting

TraCCC held a meeting for the launch of a new project, Hubs of Illicit Tradewhich seeks to better understand illicit trade, and the hubs that represent an outsized portion of that activity. Dr. Louise Shelley led our global team of experts and researchers in a discussion of the issue and this exciting project. Among the questions we hope to answer with this project are:

WHY are hubs of illicit trade becoming an increasing security concern across the international community?
WHAT are the driving factors? What are the key sectors?
WHO are the enablers? What are their tools?
WHAT has been the impact of COVID and the explosion of E-commerce? Corruption? The war in Ukraine and other violent conflicts?

And most important of all: What can we do about it? What are the right policies to counter the global enablers of hubs of illicit trade?

Date and Time
June 14, 2022
9:00 AM – 10:30 AM, EDT
Meeting was held over Zoom

See the slides here

See the video here


March 29, 2022

A Chat with the Colombian Ambassador

Colombia and the United States established diplomatic relations on June 19, 1822. As recognized by the United States Department of State, the U.S. and Colombia share a commitment to promoting security, prosperity, and democratic governance in Colombia and across the Western Hemisphere.

TraCCC and CSPS held an in-person event, with the Colombian Ambassador to the U.S., Juan Carlos Pinzón, to commemorate the bicentennial of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Colombia. Ambassador Juan Carlos Pinzón spoke about the countries’ binational relationship, partnership, and political challenges that both countries face. These remarks were followed by discussion with experts Dr. Camilo Pardo-Herrera and Professor Ellen Laipson, and Q&A featuring the Ambassador focused on the defense of democracy, migration, climate change, corruption, conflict and more.

Date and Time
March 29, 2022
5:00 PM to 6:30 PM, EDT
Auditorium, Van Metre Hall

Click here to see the slides

Click here to see the recording (Part 1 and Part 2)

Part 1

Part 2


March 8, 2022

Targeting Russian Oligarchs, Featuring: Tom Firestone

TraCCC and the Anti-Corruption Advocacy Network (ACAN) were pleased to host Tom Firestone, with his decades long experience on Russian law, crime, and corruption to speak about several timely topics including:

  • What we can expect from the new DOJ task force
  • Legal basis for seizing oligarchs’ assets under IEEPA/sanctions and U.S. anti-money laundering laws
  • Opportunities for oligarchs to challenge seizure orders in court
  • What U.S. businesses need to be thinking about now

About the Speakers

Tom Firestone is a partner at the law firm Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, where he co-chairs the White Collar Defense and Investigations practice. He previously spent 14 years with DOJ both as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York, where he specialized in the prosecution of Russian organized crime, and also as the DOJ Resident Legal Adviser at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.

Dr. Louise I. Shelley (Moderator), Director, Terrorism, Transnational Crime, and Corruption Center, and Professor, Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University

Date:               Tuesday, March 8th, 2022
Time:               10:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Location:        Zoom

View the video here

View the slides from the presentation


2021

February 21, 2022

TraCCC Book Launch: Antiquities Smuggling in the Real and Virtual World

TraCCC hosted a virtual book launch, which featured the distinguished authors for a discussion of the recently released volume, Antiquities Smuggling in the Real and Virtual World followed by a Q&A session. The book examines the illicit trade in antiquities, a trade which has increased dramatically following the destruction and looting of ancient Near Eastern sites in the Middle East. Focusing on the distribution networks for looted antiquities, especially the routes to the West, the book considers the dealers and facilitators who are key in getting the objects to market, explores the methods used including online marketplaces and social media sites, analyzes demand and buyers, revealing that objects are often available at very affordable prices. It outlines the efforts of law enforcement agencies, including the military, and legal systems to contain the trade. The book highlights the difficulties of putting a stop to this illicit trade, particularly in a conflict region.

Date and Time
February 21, 2022
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM, EST
Location: Zoom

Speakers
Dr. Louise Shelley
Dr. Layla Hashemi
Dr. Neil Brodie
Dr. Patty Gerstenblith
Dr. Mahmut Cengiz
Michael Loughnane
Dr. Antonietta Catanzariti

Click here for a 20% discount on the book

View the video here


December 8, 2021

Pathways of Crime: How Bad Actors Exploit the Internet and Payment Ecosystems to Funnel Their Wares to Consumers

Like legitimate businesses, criminal operations employ sophisticated supply chain operations to get their goods into the hands of consumers. This can include sourcing of materials, manufacturing or authentication of goods, marketing to potential customers, processing payments, and shipping to buyers. Unlike legitimate businesses, however, illicit operations often employ subterfuge and illicit pathways to avoid scrutiny from law enforcement, internet platforms, and payments companies.

In this educational session, leading experts in counterfeit personal protective equipment, problematic pharmaceuticals, and stolen antiquities shared how illegitimate actors exploit legitimate business to reach consumers. Viewers heard about both the similarities and differences in the supply chain management of various illicit operations, and learned how internet platforms and payments companies can better identify and disrupt these operations.

Date and Time
December 8, 2021
1:00 PM to 2:00 PM, EST
Location: Virtual

Speakers
Dr. Louise I. Shelley
Dr. Layla M. Hashemi
Dr. Daniel J. Rogers

For more information, click here

View the video here (TraCCC speakers represent the first 35 minutes)


December 6, 2021

Summit for Democracy–Side Event
Authoritarian States’ Illicit Finance and Kleptocracy: Threats to Democracy, Peace and Security

Overview:
The one-hour long webinar consisted of two sessions aimed at discussing possible ideas, solutions, and recommended actions to S4D and the United States and S4D communities.

Session one, The Corruptive Influence of Authoritarian States: A Kleptocracy Security Threat to Democracy and Human Rights, featured Dr. Louise I. Shelley, director of TraCCC and Claudia Escobar, former Judge of the Court of Appeals of Guatemala and a respected legal scholar. The first session was moderated by David M. Luna, Co-Director, TraCCC-AITI.

Session two, Illicit Financing of Crime, Violence, and Insecurity in Authoritarian States, featured two internationally-recognized experts and instructors of the TraCCC-AITI ongoing program on authoritarianism, John Cassara and Lakshmi Kumar, Global Financial Integrity (GFI). Session two was moderated by Dr. Layla Hashemi.

The event also featured Corina Rebegea from the National Democratic Institute (NDI).

Distinguished Panelists:
Dr. Louise I. Shelley
Dr. Claudia Escobar
John Cassara
Lakshmi Kumar
Corina Rebegea

Moderators:
David M. Luna
Dr. Layla M. Hashemi

Date and Time
December 6, 2021
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM, EST
Location: Virtual

For more information, click here

View the video here


December 6, 2021

Summit for Democracy–Side Event
From High-Level Talk to Grassroots Action: How We Can Support Civic Actors to Achieve S4D Commitments

Overview:

The Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TRaCCC) at George Mason University and Accountability Lab hosted a session that dove into how the Summit for Democracy commitments can be translated into meaningful, sustainable reforms on the ground through concerted civic action.

Too often, commitments at the international level by governments do not lead to change for citizens. Cutting across the Summit’s three key themes, this conversation drew on examples from around the world as to how local change-makers–with support from forward-looking funders and donors–can articulate key needs, mobilize collective action, and identify cutting-edge approaches to fighting corruption, pushing back against authoritarianism and protecting human rights. The goal was to begin a shared conversation about these issues and what a new paradigm might look like for smart, dynamic donor support for grassroots democratic actions.

Distinguished Panelists
Shaazka Beyerle: Senior Fellow, TraCCC
McDonald Lewanika: Chief of Party, Accountability Lab Zimbabwe
Fred Bauma: Activist, Lucha Congo
Abigail Bellows: Deputy, Policy, Anti-Corruption Task Force, USAID
Margaret Mliwa: Program Officer,  Eastern Africa, Ford Foundation

Date and Time
December 6, 2021
9:00 PM to 10:00 PM, EST
Location: Virtual

For more information, click here

View the video here

Read the S4D blog post here, co-authored by Shaazka Beyerle.


December 1, 2021

The Enablers: How the West Supports Kleptocrats and Corruption – Endangering Our Democracy
A book discussion with Frank Vogl

Overview: Authoritarian regimes in many countries, and the men that lead them, depend on the international management of licit and illicit funds under their control. The vital management services are provided by “THE ENABLERS” – banks, real estate brokers, auditors, lawyers, financial consultants, and art auction houses headquartered on Wall Street, in the City of London and in other major international financial capitals.

Frank Vogl detailed the massive scale of the activities of today’s enablers for their kleptocratic clients and why curbing their operations is critical to secure democracy, enhance national security, and ensure international financial stability.

Date and Time
December 1, 2021
12:00 to 1:30 PM, EST
Location: Remote

Speakers
Frank Vogl: Author and Presenter
Louise Shelley: Moderator

View the video here


November 30, 2021

Vision Series

Louise Shelley discussed her research and the work TraCCC does on a November 30 Vision Series event from 7:00 to 8:00 PM. It was broadcast on GMU TV.

This event featured Dr. Louise Shelley, the Omer L. and Nancy Hirst Endowed Chair and a University Professor, who addressed How the Smart Use of Data Is Being Used to Fight Transnational Crime.

In her presentation, Dr. Shelley described new visionary research conducted within the Mason’s Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center where sophisticated use of data is providing key insights into critical problems of corruption, terrorism, illicit trade, and transnational crime. She also highlighted her National Science Foundation funded team’s prize-winning basic research using advanced data analytics, which has contributed to the seizure worldwide of over 55 million counterfeit and substandard medical masks that would have otherwise endangered medical care providers.

The Mason Vision Series was live streamed through GMU-TV. Participants had the opportunity to engage in the discussion by submitting questions via email (GMUProv@gmu.edu) or Twitter by using #VisionSeriesMason.

Watch the video here


October 27, 2021

Namibia: Natural Resources, Equitable Development and Corruption

Overview: Namibia, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean in Southern Africa, is rich in natural resources from diamonds and uranium to fish and zinc. Its middle-income status belies high socioeconomic inequalities and corruption, the latter from the micro level up to national and transnational dealings. TraCCC’s Community Solutions Program (CSP) Fellow, Allen Muketela, presented an overview of corruption in Namibia, including in the realm of natural resources and the impact of graft on equitable development.

Date and Time
October 27, 2021
1:30 to 3:00 PM, EST
Location: Remote

Speakers
Allen Muketela is a 2021-22 Fellow from Namibia in the Community Solutions Program (CSP), a U.S. Department of State sponsored leadership and exchange program implemented by IREX that brings early- to mid-career changemakers between 25-38 years of age and from over 90 countries. TraCCC is pleased to be Allen’s virtual CSP Practicum host. His practicum focus is on the nexus of corruption and equitable development in his country, particularly in the Zambezi region. Allen was one of the founders of a prior youth initiative, the Zambezi Anti-Corruption movement. He’s an entrepreneur and experienced facilitator and career guidance and financial literacy mentor for junior and secondary schools.

A. Alonso Aguirre: Department Chair & Professor, Environmental Science and Policy, GMU (discussant)
Shaazka Beyerle: Senior Fellow at TraCCC (facilitator)

Watch the video here


October 14, 2021

TITLE: Will Central America be our next Afghanistan?
DATE: October 14, 2021
TIME: 12:00 – 13:30 p.m.

PANELISTS:

  • Louise Shelley – Director, Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center University Professor, Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University.(moderator)
  • Adriana Beltran – Executive Director of Seattle International Foundation.
  • Stephen McFarland – Former US Ambassador to Guatemala and Coordinator of Rule of Law and Enforcement in Kabul, Afghanistan.
  • Claudia Escobar Mejía – Distinguished Visiting Professor, Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. Executive Director of Be Just NGO.

OVERVIEW:
Continued instability and insecurity in Central America are destabilizing the region with some states veering towards authoritarian rule and criminalized markets. Pervasive kleptocracy, violent organized crime, and illicit economies across Central America have eroded the rule of law, stymied sustainable development, heightened poverty, diverted critical resources from financing economic growth, infrastructure modernization, and broader prosperity, while fueling an array of cross-border security threats across the region. Such actions have worsened during the pandemic and now pose greater threats to U.S. national security and international community as corrupt power elites and criminal networks contribute to surges in migration and undermine legitimate commerce, trade, and the economy through extortion, the trafficking of drugs, weapons and counterfeits, human trafficking and smuggling.

TOPICS:
The Panelists comparatively discussed the similarities and differences between the situation in Afghanistan and the countries of Central America in relation to corruption, institutional weakness (especially in the judiciary), organized crime, violence against women and human rights. The role of the international community is indispensable to help develop more effective regional security approaches and solutions. Such actions will help to prevent the region from further destabilization adverse to the interests of the United States and international community and in countering the corruptive influence of kleptocrats, organized criminals and drug trafficking networks.

View the video here


September 30, 2021

The anti-corruption potential of beneficial ownership transparency and implications for natural resources


July 26, 2021

Putting a Price on the Priceless

Putting a Price on the Priceless: Measuring the Illicit Antiquities Trade in Data and Dollars

This year, the G20 has prioritized the protection of cultural heritage and the prevention of illicit trafficking, holding a historic Ministerial Meeting in Rome on July 29 and 30. 

As heads of state and government turn a global spotlight on the illicit trade in cultural property, it is more important than ever that policymakers and law enforcement fully understand the problem. But how can we quantify looting, smuggling, and related crimes? What data sources can be used? Is absence of evidence actually evidence of absence? What harm is caused by cultural racketeering beyond a dollar amount—to the legitimate art market, global security, and human rights? 

Top experts came together to discuss these questions and more during a live webinar on July 26. Co-sponsored by the Antiquities Coalition and George Mason University’s Terrorism, Transnational Crime, and Corruption Center (TraCCC), the webinar was attended by more than 150 individuals from around the world.

Speakers including Louise Shelley, Layla Hashemi, Neil Brodie, and Ute Wartenberg covered the direct and indirect effects of the illicit trade in a panel moderated by Patrick Costello. 

Key Takeaways included:

  • Illicit Trade Thrives In Unstable Environments: Looting and trafficking pose major problems to fragile states with a weak peace and security balance. Finding a resolution to such post-conflict situations proves extremely difficult. Hashemi argued that proceeds from illegal antiquities fuel terrorism and conflict and converge with global problems of corruption, drug and weapon trading, and money laundering, all of which pose large financial revenue opportunities for criminals.
  • Free Ports Are Playground For Illicit Market: With false documentation and forged records, free ports are a breeding ground for antiquities trafficking. Used as large, tax free warehouses for storing art, often with no source or ownership history, such free ports are used as key transit points between the origin of looted antiquities and their entrance into the global market without provenance.
  • Coin Sales are a Key Element of the Antiquities Market: The scale of coin sales online has grown significantly in recent years and represents a large share of the market sales in both volume and revenue. As Wartenberg noted, the coin market is largely open access. Coin sales were not included in the figures included in the Rand Report title “Tracking and Disrupting the Illicit Antiquities Trade with Open Source Data” although they were discussed.
  • Market Analysis Should Extend to Sites On the ground and On the web: If research is done into the money made from individual on-the-ground archaeological sites as well as digital marketplaces like Etsy, eBay, or Facebook, efforts to find the exact value of the illicit art trade could be more constructive. The democratization of the market and a rise in e-commerce has led to a significant increase in online sales. The consequent flood of information on the market requires the use of advanced data analytics to assess the value of the trade.
  • More Research Into Illicit Market is Needed: Brodie argued that general research into the market is lacking as a result of deficient funding and a limited pool of fields doing the research. Research should be composed of a variety of methodologies and should be multidisciplinary, including not just archeologists but other fields and sectors. Data analysis of online markets is key in approximating the scale of the trade, the actors involved and the dynamics of the market according to Hashemi.
  • Data Analysis as the Basis of Policy: Shelley argued that unless we understand the dimensions of the market, the modes of sale and the key facilitators, we cannot develop effective policies to address the problem of smuggled antiquities.

Learn more about the panelists’ research on antiquities trafficking and looting in the forthcoming Routledge edited volume Antiquities Smuggling in the Real and Virtual World (January 2022). 


June 14, 2021

Virtual Panel:
Sand mafias: Environmental harm, corruption, and economic impacts

Overview: TraCCC and the TNRC Project held a virtual panel discussion on sand mafias — an understudied, yet environmentally devastating trend for which corruption appears to be a major facilitating factor. The illicit extraction and trade in sand is detrimental to ecosystems and plays a role in destroying local economies, propping up autocrats and fueling conflict.

Date and Time
June 14, 2021
9:00 AM to 10:30 AM, EST
Location: Remote

Speakers
Mohamad Daghar: Regional Coordinator Eastern Africa, ENACT programme, Institute for Security Studies
Dr. Prem Mahadevan: Senior Analyst, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime
Dr. Louise Shelley: Director, Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center, and Professor, Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University (Moderator)

To learn more about the event, click here

View the video here


May 18, 2021

Virtual Panel:
Lessons from research: Using trade data to expose illicit financial flows and corruption in natural resource commodities, and broader applications

Overview: Corruption is a significant facilitator behind illegal logging, timber laundering, and associated international trade, undermining efforts to conserve and sustainably use forest resources. Under the Targeting Natural Resource Corruption project, researchers are developing new evidence on factors that can affect the success and failure of anti-corruption interventions in the biodiversity and natural resource management space. The TNRC Project hosted a presentation of new research findings from an examination of trade data on timber from Peru, and discussion of the implications and potential applications of this and similar research. This event shared insights on how trade data is being used to “follow the money” and find discrepancies that indicate possible illicit financial flows and associated corruption.

Date and Time
May 18, 2021
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM, EST
Location: Remote

Speakers
Camila Gianella: Researcher, CMI
Channing Mavrellis: Illicit Trade Director, Global Financial Integrity
Dr. Camilo Pardo: Researcher, Terrorism, Transnational Crime, and Corruption Center, GMU
Julia M. Urrunaga: Peru Director, Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), (Moderator)

To learn more about the event, click here

View the video here


March 11, 2021

The Role of Investigative Journalism in Countering Natural Resource Corruption

Investigative journalists are often the first to uncover corruption in locations with limited enforcement or low rule of law. This is particularly true in environmental sectors that tend to be low priorities for law enforcement and governments. These professionals also bring skills and relationships to bear that can shed light on corruption in natural resource management (NRM).

TraCCC held a TNRC Virtual Panel to discuss how investigative journalists approach investigations in environmental sectors to uncover corruption, and how NRM practitioners and journalists can cooperate, inform and learn from each other, particularly in settings where corruption makes it less desirable to report to government. Experts shared their stores, experience, and best practices for being effective in spite of corrupt environments.

Learn more and see the recording here.


2020

September 29, 2020

Understanding how corruption is accelerating illegal logging and deforestation during the COVID-19 pandemic

TraCCC in our partnership with TNRC hosted a virtual panel that focused on corruption as an important facilitator of illegal logging in the Amazon ( Peru and Brazil) and Mozambique. Experts addressed COVID-19 era developments in a historical context, discussed their recent research and publications and advocated means to effectively address this crucial problem that undermines biological diversity, exacerbates climate change and often threatens forest-dependent communities. We discussed strategies to address corruption and follow the money in regard to this illicit trade.

Speakers
Maureen Moriarty-Lempke, PhD, Senior Fellow, Duke University Center for International Development and Senior Associate, Land and Security, CDA Collaborative Cambridge
Julia Marisa Sekula, Coordinator – Climate and Security, Instituto Igarapé
Julia M. Urrunaga, Peru Director, Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA)
Debra LaPrevotte, Senior Investigator, The Sentry (Moderator)

Learn more and see the recording here.


September 18, 2020

Beyond 9/11: Homeland Security and Transnational Crime Panel Discussion

What does it mean to “secure the homeland” in the twenty-first century? During this event, leading experts provided strategic lessons and crucial recommendations for the future of homeland security. This panel discussion focused on the place of counter-terrorism in the homeland security enterprise, the management of transnational crime, confronting cyber and other threats to our infrastructure, and the challenge of weapons of mass destruction.

Speaker 1: Alan Bersin, Belfer Center, Harvard “What’s Wrong with the Conventional Law Enforcement Model.”

Speaker 2: Caitlin Durkovich: “The Disruption Model for Combating Transnational Criminal Networks”

Speaker 3: Seth Stodder, Holland & Knight, “Law Enforcement Targeting: Finding the Criminal Needle in the Legal Haystack.”


September 16, 2020

Female Rangers and Anti-Poaching Strategies to Stem Corruption

Traccc, in our role with TNRC,  hosted a discussion on gender as an anti-corruption strategy in the natural resource sector. Experts from the field started with and expanded upon examination of three examples of female anti-poaching units in Southern and Eastern Africa.

Panelists:

Jessica Graham, President, JG Global Advisory LLC

Greta Francesca Iori, Wildlife Crime & Conservation Consultant

Rohit Singh, Law Enforcement Specialist, WWF

Dr. Louise Shelley, Director, Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center, and Professor, Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University (Moderator)

For a recap on the event and to listen to the recording please click here.


June 23, 2020

Virtual Panel: Illegal Wildlife Markets, Zoonotic Disease Transfer and Corruption

Traccc’s director, Dr. Louise Shelley, participated in a virtual panel on wildlife and natural resource corruption on Tuesday, June 23rd. This virtual event examined the role that corruption has played in allowing these markets to flourish, what the future may hold if trade is driven underground, and new approaches that practitioners must consider to protect natural resources, public health and assure good governance.

Blog Post


January 27, 2020

Understanding Crime Convergence to Better Target Natural Resource Corruption

TraCCC, as part of the Targeting Natural Resource Corruption Consortium, was pleased to host a presentation by Gloria Freund “Understanding Crime Convergence to Better Target Natural Resource Corruption, followed by a panel discussion. This presentation was part of the World Bank ICCWC (The International Consortium on Combatting Wildlife Crime) Wildlife Forum.

Gloria Freund is the lead for Combatting Wildlife Trafficking at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and she addressed three questions: (1) How ‘real’ and prevalent is the oft-heard convergence factor within the illicit ecosystem?; (2) How can we discern where convergence occurs to make more impactful decisions to address this pernicious, corrupting activity?; and (3) What can we gain by adopting a broader, commodity-agnostic aperture in addressing natural resource exploitation?


2019

October 29, 2019: Deb LaPrevotte: Following the Money in Illicit Wildlife Trade

TraCCC was pleased to host Deb LaPrevotte, senior investigator with the Sentry. LaPrevotte addressed illicit wildlife trade, and its intersection with corruption and other transnational crime.

To see the video, click here


2018

November 28, 2018

The Abuse and Exploitation of Red Notices, Interpol and the U.S. Judicial Process by Russia and other Authoritarian States

TraCCC and the Antonin Scalia Law School’s National Security Institute (NSI) hosted a conference that focused on how the asylum and judicial process in the United States is being undermined and why. A very special group of speakers provided domestic and international perspectives on the problems that exist and offered thoughts on policies that can help mitigate risks.

View the conference report here.

View video of the event here (links to a playlist).