In the News - Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC)

Evan Marie Lowder, an assistant professor in the Department of Criminology, Law, and Society at George Mason University, has been honored with the 2024 Outstanding Faculty Award by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV). Recognized as a “Rising Star,” Lowder’s research focuses on reducing justice-system contact and improving behavioral health outcomes among justice-involved adults, and she directs the Early Justice Strategies Lab at the university. This accolade places her among a prestigious group of educators and marks her as the 29th Mason faculty member to receive this award since its inception in 1987.

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Louise Shelley, also from George Mason University, holds the Omer L. and Nancy Hirst Endowed Chair and is a University Professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government. She is the director of the Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC) that she founded. Shelley is a noted expert on the intersections of terrorism, organized crime, and corruption, with specific emphasis on human trafficking, transnational crime, and terrorism, especially in relation to the former Soviet Union. Her research also delves into illicit financial flows and money laundering.

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Examining the Role of Cryptocurrency in Funding Hamas: Challenges and Global Responses

The Christian Science Monitor article discusses the use of cryptocurrency by terrorist groups, specifically focusing on Hamas. The piece highlights the challenges and efforts to combat terror funding through such digital currencies. The article raises the question of whether increased vigilance by the U.S. and other nations will be successful and sustainable in curbing this issue, particularly in the context of the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.

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Overview of the October 7th Hamas Terrorist Attacks in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip

The article from HS Today provides a detailed analysis of the October 7th Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. It highlights the extensive planning and intelligence failures that led to the attacks, noting that it might take 12 to 18 months to fully understand Hamas’s preparation and execution strategies. The attacks, involving various tactics including bombings and rocket firings, resulted in significant casualties: 1,400 Israelis killed, over 3,400 wounded, 240 hostages, and 32 American fatalities. Israeli responses have drawn criticism and accusations of war crimes. The report underscores the escalating activities of Palestinian groups in the region, emphasizing the importance of monitoring international terrorism databases like GRID for emerging threats from groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS, as well as Iran-backed militia groups in the Middle East

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Dr. Louise Shelley and Dr. Mahmut Cengiz attended an exclusive lunch event with Representative Gerry Connolly (D-VA-11), who spoke about America’s role in the world in the face of growing global threats and crises, on November 20, 2023.

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Iraq’s Delicate Balancing Act With Iran and the U.S.

In Iraq, Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani faces the challenge of balancing his country’s relations with both the United States and Iran while dealing with Iranian-backed militias and public sentiment regarding the Gaza conflict. Shiite militias, backed by Iran, have grown in power in Iraq but are resentful of Hamas for risking a regional conflict that could threaten their own control. Some militias have intensified attacks on U.S. forces, but not all are eager for a confrontation with the U.S. Iraqi leaders must navigate these complexities to safeguard their country’s security and economic interests. The U.S. needs to engage with various key players in Iraq to deter Iran and the militias, while avoiding turning Iraq into a battleground in a broader regional war.

Iraqs-Delicate-Balancing-Act-With-Iran-and-the-U.S.-WSJ DOWNLOAD

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12 November 2024: Mahmut Cengiz authored a Homeland Security Today article entitled, COLUMN: Can the Reelection of Former President Donald Trump Alleviate Strained Relations With Turkiye?

12 November 2024: Mahmut Cengiz was quoted in a Small Wars Journal: Exploring the small wars of Latin America and beyond.

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ISIS’s Growing Presence in Africa: A Deep Dive

Date: October 5, 2023

Pearl Matibe

While ISIS may have lost significant ground in Syria and Iraq, its influence is far from diminished. Establishing regional branches, particularly in Africa, the extremist group continues to pose a significant threat. The Global Coalition, recognizing the gravity of the situation in regions like the Sahel, Mozambique, and Nigeria, is actively collaborating with African governments. The aim? To enhance governance, improve service delivery, and ultimately counteract the rise of extremist factions on the continent.

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Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Focuses on African States

Date: October 5, 2023

Pearl Matibe

The Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS has initiated a specialized focus group aimed at bolstering African nations’ counterterrorism capabilities. This move is particularly targeted at areas where governance challenges have allowed extremist factions to capitalize on economic hardships and ineffective governance. Ian J McCary, from the US Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism, sheds light on this strategy and other counterterrorism topics in a detailed interview with White House correspondent Pearl Matibe.

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Schar School Study Shows 4 ‘Hubs’ of Illicit Trade—and the Reasons They Flourish

Date: September 27, 2023

Louise Shelley

A recent academic study conducted by the Schar School of Policy and Government highlights four global hubs of illicit trade for organized crime and underscores the urgent need for governments and the private sector to combat these activities by addressing regulatory gaps and fostering international cooperation.

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U.S. Treasury Disrupts Hizballah’s Financing Network

Date: September 12, 2023

Author: Aurora Ortega

The U.S. Department of the Treasury, in collaboration with the Drug Enforcement Administration, designates key Hizballah operatives and financial facilitators in South America and Lebanon. This action aligns with ongoing efforts to combat Hizballah’s global financing and activities.

To explore Aurora’s research further, read her paper here.

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Study Uncovers Four Global Illicit Trade Hubs

Date: September 25, 2023

Louise Shelley and David Luna

A recent academic study identifies four global hubs of illicit trade, including regions in South and Central America, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Weak regulations and governance contribute to these hubs, demanding urgent attention from law enforcement and policymakers.

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New Study Identifies Illicit Trade Hotspots

Date: September 25, 2023

Louise Shelley and David Luna

A study presented at the IP Crime Conference reveals key hubs of illicit trade across South America, Central America, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. These hubs share an environment conducive to organized crime, emphasizing the urgent need for proactive measures to combat illicit activities.

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31 August 2023: Louise Shelley was quoted in a Yahoo Finance article entitled, “George Mason’s TraCCC Launches Second Annual Hackathon to Fight Counterfeiters.”

28 August 2023: Mahmut Cengiz authored a Homeland Security Today article entitled, “Taliban Rule at the Two-Year Mark: Should We Worry About al-Qaeda and ISIS-K?“

24 August 2023: Mahmut Cengiz authored a Homeland Security Today article entitled, “A Holistic Approach to Combat Fentanyl Smuggling and Ongoing Overdose Deaths.”

15 August 2023: Mahmut Cengiz authored a Small Wars Journal article entitled, “From Terrorist Organizations to Cocaine Groups in Colombia: Is ELN the Next?“

8 August 2023: Louise Shelley was quoted in a Weekly Blitz article entitled, “US hotel chains face legal action from sex-trafficking survivors.”

8 August 2023: Mahmut Cengiz has been offered an Editorial Team position with the International Journal of Political Science (IJPS).

3 August 2023: Louise Shelley was quoted in a Politico article entitled, “China’s non-cooperation list lives on.”

30 July 2023: Mahmut Cengiz was interviewed by Voice of America (in Dari-language) in a segment about the increasing ISIS-K threat in the region and why the Iranian government accuses the Taliban and claims that Afghanistan is a safe haven for ISIS leaders. The segment is entitled “داعش نفوذ خود را به ۳۳ ولایت افغانستان گسترش داده است – چنگیز.”

24 July 2023: Louise Shelley‘s book, Dark Commerce: How a New Illicit Economy is Threatening Our Future, is now available in a Chinese-language format.

18 July 2023: Mahmut Cengiz was named by the Small Wars Journal to be an El Centro Fellow. El Centro Fellows are experts in the region and support SWJ’s approach to advancing discussion and awareness in the field through dialogue and publishing. See the Schar School press release.

13 July 2023: Mahmut Cengiz was quoted in a WVTF / Radio IQ Friends Council segment entitled, “How should Virginia deal with the fentanyl crisis?“

30 June 2023: The University for Peace, TraCCC and the Anti-Illicit Trade Institute will offer the second edition of the online Summer Certificate Course on Combating Transnational Organized Crime and Illicit Trade: A Focus on the Americas, from 31 July to 10 August 2023. See detailed information here.

24 June 2023: Louise Shelley was interviewed for the Canadian Broadcast Corporation News Network in a segment about the showdown between the Russian government and the Wagner Group.

20 June 2023: Layla Hashemi spoke at the International Forum on Justice and Innovation in Brazil. Her talk is entitled, “Threats and opportunities in the Cyber World: social media as data.”

18 June 2023: Mahmut Cengiz was interviewed for Insurgency Unmasked in an episode entitled, “UNMASKING ISLAMIC GROUPS IN SYRIA: Dynamics & Impacts.”

10 June 2023: Louise Shelley was quoted in a CBC article entitled, “Deadly drug just ‘a click away,’ warns grieving Ontario family.”

7 June 2023: Louise Shelley was quoted in a New York Times article entitled, “Binance Moved Billions Through Two U.S. Banks, Regulators Say.”

3 June 2023: David Luna was quoted in an article for Infobae entitled, “El Grupo de Acción Financiera Internacional alertó sobre el aumento del lavado de dinero de criminales y terroristas en Brasil.”

30 May 2023: Mahmut Cengiz authored an article for Homeland Security Today entitled, “With Porous Borders and Endemic Corruption, Can Syria Mitigate the Captagon Threat?“

29 May 2023: Mirian Gasparin authored an article entitled, “Estudo Revela Preocupação Com Os Impactos Do Comércio Ilícito Global,” which mentions TraCCC’s Hubs of Illicit Trade project’s work on the Tri-Border area.

24 May 2023: David Luna was quoted in an article for mlex entitled, “Brazil must redouble efforts to fight corruption, OECD official says.”

23 May 2023: Aurora Ortega, TraCCC PhD student, co-authored a paper for RUSI entitled, “Hizbullah and Russia’s Nascent Alliance.”

20 May 2023: Louise Shelley presented “Post-Soviet Oligarchs and Kleptocrats: Their Rise, Their Survival, and Western Complicity” for a conference on Measuring Grand Corruption and Reducing its Power, hosted by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Cambridge, MA, from May 18 to May 20, 2023.

18 May 2023: As part of the State Department’s IVLP program, Mahmut Cengiz met with a delegation from Libya’s customs unit about antiquities trafficking. See right image.

11 May 2023: Louise Shelley was awarded the 2022 Earle C. Williams Presidential Medal for Faculty Excellence in Social Impact (see image below) by GMU’s President Washington.

8 May 2023: Mahmut Cengiz was selected as an El Centro (SWJ-El Centro) fellow by the Small Wars Journal for 2023.

2 May 2023: Louise Shelley was interviewed for a Cornell University podcast entitled, “Discussion of Putin’s War in Ukraine: Who is winning the war? How will it end?“

2 May 2023: Claudia Escobar spoke as part of a virtual workshop hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations entitled, “Improving Governance and Protecting the Vulnerable: The Nexus of Trafficking and Corruption in Central America.”

1 May 2023: Mahmut Cengiz was interviewed for Infobae in Brazil about jihadism and radicalization issues in Turkey. The segment is entitled, “Una red islámica de reclutamiento de menores se llevó a cinco indígenas de la Amazonia a escuelas de Turquía.”

1 May 2023: Mahmut Cengiz authored an article for Homeland Security Today entitled, “Americans Are Not the Only Targets of Iranian-Backed Militia Groups in Iraq and Syria.”

27 April 2023: Louise Shelley was quoted in a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty article entitled, “The Lies That Kept A Central Asian Money Launderer’s Cash Flowing.”

25 April 2023: Mahmut Cengiz and Camilo Pardo authored an article for the Small Wars Journal entitled, “Hezbollah’s Global Networks and Latin American Cocaine Trade.”

18 April 2023: Bilal Wahab, TraCCC alumnus, authored an article for the Wall Street Journal entitled, “Twenty Years After the War, Iraq Needs U.S. Support.”

12 April 2023: John Cassara was interviewed in an episode of Freakonomics Radio entitled, “Why Does One Tiny State Set the Rules for Everyone?“

12 April 2023: Mahmut Cengiz authored a column for Homeland Security Today entitled, “Cocaine Networks Merge with Fentanyl Trafficking Between the Middle East and Central America.”

4 April 2023: Louise Shelley was quoted in a New York Post article entitled, “Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich secretly sent $245K to Vladimir Putin’s former high school teacher: report.”

3 April 2023: Louise Shelley, Judy Deane, Claudia Escobar, and Camilo Pardo are quoted in a George Mason University article entitled, “New TraCCC fellowship aims to strengthen democracy, fight corruption in three Central American countries.” The article refers to our Democracy and Anti-Corruption Defenders Fellowship.

31 March 2023: Mahmut Cengiz was interviewed on the Güvenpark YouTube channel about recent cocaine seizures in Peru en route to Turkey. The segment is entitled, “Pasif İçicilikten AKtif Satıcılığa KOKAİN Hattı.”

29 March 2023: Louise Shelley and Jozsef Vigh’s book, Social Changes, Crime and the Police, Reading: Harwood Press, 1995, was reissued by Routledge Library Editions: Police and Policing.

28 March 2023: Lakshmi Kumar spoke at an event hosted by the Department of the Treasury about Countering Corruption and Illicit Finance as part of the Summit for Democracy.

27 March 2023: The 2nd Summit for Democracy (S4D) starts this week in Washington, DC co-hosted by the United States to strengthen democratic institutions, tackle corruption, and defend human rights. TraCCC and AITI have been active throughout the S4D Year of Action including chairing the S4D Working Group on Kleptocracy and Illicit Finance. Click for the S4D 2023 Program of Events.

27 March 2023: Elisa Norio was interviewed by El Universal in an article entitled, “Especialista en crimen considera “correcta” alerta de viaje de EU para México.”

23 March 2023: John Cassara testified before the House Financial Services Committee in a hearing entitled, “Follow the Money: The CCP’s Business Model Fueling the Fentanyl Crisis.” See the video here.

19 March 2023: Mahmut Cengiz authored an article for Homeland Security Today entitled, “Erdogan’s 20-Year Legacy, Upcoming Elections in Turkey, and Impacts on the U.S. and EU.”

17 March 2023: TraCCC affiliate and co-director of AITI, David Luna, founder of the OECD Task Force on Countering Illicit Trade delivered a statement at the organization’s 11th plenary, held on the 16th and 17th of March 2023.

15 March 2023: Camilla Bosanquet, PhD student in the Schar School of Policy and Government, joined the informal Experts Advisory subgroup on Best Practices in on Online marketplaces at the OECD in Paris. She will be involved in its work during 2023.

14 March 2023: Camilo Pardo spoke at an event entitled, “Central America: Without Independence, Justice is Corrupted,” organized by Connectas.

2 March 2023: The Summit for Democracy (S4D) Working Group on Kleptocracy and Illicit Finance just released its Final Report stemming from its second dialogue on February 9, 2023. See the Past Events page for more information.

24 February 2023: Louise Shelley and Yulia Krylova authored an article for the journal, Crime, Law and Social Change, entitled, “Criminal street gangs and domestic sex trafficking in the United States: evidence from Northern Virginia.”

23 February 2023: Claudia Escobar spoke at an event entitled, “Rising Authoritarianism in Central America,” hosted by the Center for the Americas and the University of Oklahoma.

22 February 2023: Elisa Norio spoke at the National Forum on Extortion, hosted by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and the National Citizen Observatory for Security, Justice, and Legality (ONC). Her symposium is entitled, “Frontiers of Extortion Investigation.”

15 February 2023: Layla Hashemi presented at a virtual discussion on gender and technology, hosted by Women In International Security (WIIS) and the United States Department of State’s Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues (S/GWI). The event was entitled, “Gender and Technology: Designing Pathways for an Equitable Future.”

13 February 2023: Mahmut Cengiz authored an article for Homeland Security Today entitled, “ISIS-Khorasan Appears to Be Replacing the Taliban’s Terror in Afghanistan.”

9 February 2023: Mahmut Cengiz authored an article for Homeland Security Today entitled, “PERSPECTIVE: Deadly Earthquakes in Turkey: How Endemic Corruption Worsens the Situation.”

7 February 2023: Louise Shelley contributed her expertise to Marketplace‘s podcast, Million Bazillion, in their season 4 premier episode entitled, “What is the black market?“

3 February 2023: Claudia Escobar spoke at a virtual event, hosted by the New York City Bar Association’s Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice and the International Legal Assistance Consortium (ILAC), entitled “The Criminalization of Justice Operators in Guatemala – a Strategy to Ensure Impunity.”

2 February 2023: Louise Shelley was quoted in a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty article entitled, “In Arrest Of Former Top FBI Agent, Shadow Of Russian Oligarch Deripaska Looms — Again.”

30 January 2023: Mahmut Cengiz, along with other authors and editorial board members, co-authored an article for Homeland Security Today entitled, “Risks and Threats for 2023: The Nation’s Homeland Security Leaders Speak.”

26 January 2023: Louise Shelley was quoted in a New York Post article entitled, “Ex-FBI official Charles McGonigal worked for more than one Russian billionaire.”

26 January 2023: Claudia Escobar was interviewed by the University of Helsinki’s Rule of Law Centre for an article entitled, “‘Paradise for organized crime’ – Guatemalan judge Claudia Escobar Mejía fled to the United States.”

26 January 2023: Shaazka Beyerle spoke at a World Bank-hosted event to promote the launch of Untapped Power: Leveraging Diversity and Inclusion for Conflict and Development, which was edited by Carla Koppell and features a chapter from Shaazka Beyerle and Claudia Escobar each.

22 January 2023: Claudia Escobar was quoted in an El Especdador article entitled, “Caso Velásquez: testimonios revelan los secretos de la corrupción guatemalteca.”

17 January 2023: Louise Shelley was interviewed for the CBC News program, The National, in a segment entitled, “‘He’s a vicious, brutal man’: Russia’s Wagner Group led by Putin-connected ex-con.”

16 January 2023: Mahmut Cengiz authored an article for Homeland Security Today entitled, “ISIS and Its Regional Affiliates Remain Persistent and Pervasive Threat Worldwide.”

16 January 2023: Mahmut Cengiz authored an article for Modern Diplomacy entitled, “Turkey’s Upcoming Critical Elections and Its Possible Impacts on Tense Relations with the EU and US.“

9 January 2023: Mahmut Cengiz authored an article in Homeland Security Today entitled, “Are al-Qaeda’s 2022 Activities a Harbinger of the Terror Group’s Resurgence?“

8 January 2023: David Luna is quoted in a USA Today article entitled, “Fentanyl killed 70,000 in US. With Biden in Mexico, can neighbors cooperate to stop flow?“

29 December 2022: Mahmut Cengiz spoke about corruption and smuggling issues in Turkey in a Güvenpark segment entitled, “Türkiye’de Sıfırlanan Yolsuzluk ve Kaçakçılıkla Mücadele.”

29 December 2022: Louise Shelley is quoted in the OCCRP‘s press release announcing the 2022 Person of the Year in Organized Crime and Corruption award, for which she served as one of the judges. The winner is Yevgeny Prigozhin.

29 December 2022: Louise Shelley is quoted in a Newsbook article entitled, “Wagner Group head named ‘person of the year’ for corruption.“

29 December 2022: Louise Shelley is quoted in an International Business Times article entitled, “‘Putin’s Chef’ Named 2022 Person Of The Year In ‘Organized Crime And Corruption.’“

9 December 2022: As part of Transparency International’s IACC, Louise Shelley spoke at the event, “The Corruption Authors: Very Bad People, Enablers, Putin, Kleptocrats and All that is Fit to Print.”

9 December 2022: As part of Transparency International’s IACC, Shaazka Beyerle spoke at the event, “Anti-Corruption Reset: Beyond Siloes to Shifting Power, Civil Society Collaboration and Localised Donor Support.”

9 December 2022: As part of Transparency International’s IACC, Layla Hashemi spoke at the event, “Looted Antiquities and Conflict Financing: Fighting Corruption through Strategic Litigation.”

8 December 2022: As part of Transparency International’s IACC, Louise Shelley and Claudia Escobar spoke at the event, “Mafiocracy: State Capture by Organized Crime.”

8 December 2022: Elisa Norio was quoted in an article for Connectas entitled, “Extorsiones en el paraiso: derecho de piso en cada rincon del caribe mexicano.”

8 December 2022: Louise Shelley gave the keynote at the ACAMS US Capital Chapter event, “Annual Year-In-Review and 2023 Predictions.”

7 December 2022: As part of Transparency International’s IACC, Louise Shelley spoke at the Basel Institute on Governance’s event, “Using Follow-the-Money Techniques to Detect Environmental Crimes: Potential and Challenges.” See the video here.

6 December 2022: As part of Transparency International’s IACC, David Luna spoke at the event, “Without Passing A Single New Law, What Could the US do Better to Tackle Money-laundering in the Americas and Strengthen Cross-border Enforcement?“

6 December 2022: As part of Transparency International’s International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC), Claudia Escobar spoke at the 1st plenary, “Global Security Demands a Global Response.”

6 December 2022: Layla Hashemi and Shaazka Beyerle authored an article for 360 entitled, “How people power can counter corruption.”

6 December 2022: David Luna gave the keynote at te Sports Integrity Global Alliance’s (SIGA) Summit on Global Leadership and Anti-Corruption in Sport 2022.

5 December 2022: Claudia Escobar spoke at the Netherlands Embassy on the proposal for an International anti-Corruption Court.

5 December 2022: Claudia Escobar spoke at a Wilson Center event entitled, “Protecting, Defending and Promoting Civic Space in Central America.”

3 December 2022: Nazia Hussain, TraCCC alumna, moderated a panel at the Tokyo Forum 2022, which focused on “Dialogue between Philosophy and Science: In a World Facing War, Pandemic, and Climate Change.” Nazia Hussain organized the 5th panel entitled, “Complex Challenges of Security and Climate Change: Understanding Interconnections and Charting Future Responses,” which was on December 2, from 8:15 PM to 9:05 PM, local time.

2 December 2022: Mahmut Cengiz met with a 4-person delegation from Libya, sponsored by the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program, to discuss terrorism and corruption issues.

1 December 2022: Claudia Escobar spoke at the Foreign Policy Summit: Her Power 2022. Her panel, The Impact of Corruption on Women and How They are Fighting Back, was at 11:25 AM.

Her Power 2022 – Morning from Foreign Policy on Vimeo.

27 November 2022: Bilal Wahab, TraCCC alumnus, authored an article for The National News entitled, “Saving Iraqi sovereignty: Iran, Turkey and a fractured homeland.”

24 November 2022: Claudia Escobar spoke at the 4th Session of the United Nations Forum on Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law. She spoke during the 2nd panel entitled, “Building blocks of building back: developing stronger institutions and fostering trust in government.”

24 November 2022: Mahmut Cengiz authored an article for Homeland Security Today entitled, “Turkey and U.S. Relations Are Under the Shadow of Terrorist Attacks Allegedly Linked to Kurdish Groups in Syria.”

16 November 2022: Camilla Bosanquet, TraCCC Ph.D. student, is quoted in a GMU/Schar School press release entitled, “New PhD Fellowship Will Promote Deeper Understanding of Public Policy.”

16 November 2022: Mahmut Cengiz co-authored a journal article for Social Sciences entitled, “How Hoteliers Act in the Form of Organized Crime in Human Trafficking: A Case Study from Turkey.”

13 November 2022: Nazia Hussain, TraCCC alumna, co-edited a book entitled, “Will climate change destabilize society? Dynamics of international politics over water resources.”

8 November 2022: Louise Shelley was interviewed by Ian Masters on his program, Background Briefing, in a segment entitled, “Prigozhin Epitomizes the Takeover of Russia by Thugs and Gangsters.” The video, “Russia’s ruling class has a serious problem. Thugs and Gangsters,” can be viewed here.

8 November 2022: Louise Shelley is quoted in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement press release entitled, “George Mason University hackathon winners unveil solutions to fight global counterfeiting.”

8 November 2022: Lakshmi Kumar, TraCCC affiliate, and Dr. Alexander Kupatadze, alumnus of TraCCC-Georgia co-authored a conference report entitled, “Everything Everywhere All at Once: Understanding the Implications of the Belt and Road Initiative on Trade-Based Money Laundering (TBML) and Illicit Supply Chains.”

7 November 2022: Louise Shelley is quoted in an article for The George entitled, “Mason/Amazon hackathon is a win for Mason students.”

5 November 2022: Louise Shelley was quoted in a WTOP article entitled, “Coders and students go after counterfeit goods sold online.”

3 November 2022: Louise Shelley was a speaker on a panel with Gary Kalman of Transparency International at the Washington Security and Defense Seminar (WSDS) at National Defense University on “Key issues in Security and Defense: Countering Corruption.”

31 October 2022: Mahmut Cengiz and Asma Durrani, grad student, authored an article for Homeland Security Today entitled, “Back to the Past: How Taliban Rule Has Wiped Out Afghanistan’s Gains and Provided Haven for Terrorists.”

27 October 2022: David M. Luna participated in the launch of the new Global Financial Integrity (GFI) report, “Made in China: China’s Role in Transnational Crime & Illicit Financial Flows“. See AITI Resources for more information.

27 October 2022: Louise Shelley spoke at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) event entitled, “The rise of criminal states and implications for global security.”

25 October 2022: Lakshmi Kumar spoke at the 1818 Society event entitled, “Acres of Money Laundering: Why US Real Estate is a Kleptocrat’s dream.”

20 October 2022: Mahmut Cengiz was interviewed for Voice of America in a segment about ISIS-K and their targeting of Hazaras in Afghanistan. The Dari-language segment is entitled, “شاخهٔ خراسان داعش از حاکمیت طالبان سود می‌برد- چنگیز“

19 October 2022: Noah Zoroya authored a student paper, which was published in AML RightSource, entitled, “Built to Fail: The Kabul Bank Scandal and Systemic Corruption in Afghanistan.”

15 October 2022: Louise Shelley presented at an event sponsored by the Textile Museum Associates of Southern California entitled, “The Dark Side of the Textile Trade: From the Silk Road to Today.”

13 October 2022: Louise Shelley, Layla Hashemi, Edward Huang, and Damon McCoy presented their findings at GITOC’s 24-Hour Conference on Global Organized Crime. Their talk was entitled, “Detecting and disrupting counterfeit supply chains: Illicit trade of pharmaceuticals and PPE on the open and dark web.”

13 October 2022: Aurora Ortega presented her paper, “Hezbollah in Colombia: Past and Present Modus Operandi and the Need for Greater Scrutiny,” at GITOC’s 24-Hour Conference on Global Organized Crime.

12 October 2022: The CINA Science Committee, comprised of Louise Shelley, Joseph DiZinno, and Allison Redlich, discussed the “Emerging Landscape and Future of Criminal Investigations and Network Analysis” at the 2022 CINA Annual Meeting.

12 October 2022: Camilo Pardo discussed the findings of TraCCC’s project, “Illicit Gold Trade from Peru and Colombia,” at the 2022 CINA Annual Meeting.

11 October 2022: Andrew Arlotto authored a student paper, which was published in AML RightSource, entitled, “Combatting IUU Fishing with AML Policies.”

7 October 2022: Mahmut Cengiz authored an article for Homeland Security Today entitled, “What’s Behind ISIS Khorasan’s Relentless Attacks on Mosques in Afghanistan?“

5 October 2022: Louise Shelley, Layla Hashemi, and Sarah Meo gave a talk at SMA-NIU entitled, “Transnational Crime During a Pandemic: How Criminals are Capitalizing on the Chaos Caused by COVID-19.” The overall presentation is entitled, “A World Emerging from Pandemic: Implications for Intelligence and National Security.”

30 September 2022: Layla Hashemi, Edward Huang, and Louise Shelley authored an article for a special issue of Urban Crime entitled, “Covid-19 and Urban Safety: Exploring the effects of the pandemic on fear of crime, (in)security, penal and safety policies in urban context.”

26 September 2022: Layla Hashemi authored an article for Inkstick entitled, “Farsi Twitter Mobilizes in Response Mahsa Amini’s Killing.”

22 September 2022: Layla Hashemi was interviewed by LegitScript for their program, Merchant Risk Live, to discuss corruption and abuse in free trade zones, antiquities smuggling, and more.

18 September 2022: Mahmut Cengiz spoke to the Council on Foreign Relations’s Young Professionals in Foreign Policy group about ISIS and the Global Militant Jihad in 2022.

17 September 2022: Claudia Escobar was quoted in a New York Times article entitled, “The U.S. Vowed to Defend Central American Democracy. Autocrats Had Other Plans.”

14 September 2022: Will Nelson authored an article for CSPS entitled, “The Strategic Power of Water in Asia.”

14 September 2022: Shaazka Beyerle was interviewed for the Global Standard for Civil Society Accountability newsletter about Being accountable in restricted civic spaces: how CSOs working on anticorruption can overcome this dilemma.

7 September 2022: Louise Shelley was a panelist in CTED‘s virtual roundtable, “Threat and Trends: The Illicit Traffic of Cultural Property for Terrorist Purposes.”

2 September 2022: TraCCC hosted a delegation from Lusophone countries to discuss transnational crime, terrorism, and corruption issues in Africa.

1 September 2022: Will Nelson authored an article for CSPS entitled, “Aloha from Hawaii: A Glimpse into the Indo-Pacific.”

29 August 2022: Mahmut Cengiz authored an article for Homeland Security Today entitled, “ISIS and al-Qaeda on the Move in Africa, Intent on Spreading Their Influence and Jihadist Ideology.”

23 August 2022: Mahmut Cengiz talked to a delegation from Algeria about Terrorism in the Sahel and North Africa at the Meridian Center.

22 August 2022: TraCCC is very proud that Dr. Claudia Escobar is on the shortlist of three people to be considered for the position of Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers for the UN Human Rights Council (see p. 5).

18 August 2022: Louise Shelley was quoted in a Washington Business Journal article entitled, “Amazon, GMU to tackle e-commerce counterfeiting with hackathon.”

8 August 2022: TraCCC and Amazon have joined forces to combat counterfeiting and illicit supply chain networks by organizing a hackathon, adding to the already significant collaboration between Mason and the tech giant.

28 July 2022: Louise Shelley was quoted in a Newsweek article entitled, “Ex-MI6 Head Confident He Knows Who Will Succeed Putin If His Health Fails.”

28 July 2022: Louise Shelley was interviewed for the One Decision podcast in an episode entitled, “Russian Oligarchs on the Run.”

28 July 2022: Louise Shelley was quoted in a Business Insider article entitled, “Nikolai Patrushev – a longtime Putin ally – would ‘almost certainly’ replace Putin if he falls ill, predicts former British intelligence chief.”

14 July 2022: David Luna authored an article for Florida Politics entitled, “Smarter, faster, better – combating illicit economies across the Americas.”

14 July 2022: Mahmut Cengiz authored an article for Homeland Security Today entitled, “Six Years After Coup Attempt, Henri Barkey Speaks on Turkish Government’s Accusations Against Him.”

13 July 2022: Claudia Escobar and Amb. Stephen McFarland met with Sen. Tim Kaine from Virginia (photo, right) about Guatemala and Central America generally, to discuss the rule of law, judicial independence, and democracy.

8 July 2022: Claudia Escobar authored an article for the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs entitled, “A Guatemalan Judiciary Tailored for the Mafia Needs Reform.”

7 July 2022: Mahmut Cengiz was quoted in an article for Insight Crime entitled, “Turkish Bananas: The Cocaine Road to Russia and the Persian Gulf.”

6 July 2022: Louise Shelley spoke on Trata de Personas para Explotación Laboral en Latinoamérica (Human Trafficking for Labor Exploitation) at the Diploma on Human Trafficking and Forced Labor, Human Trafficking Program of UNAM (National University of Mexico).

5 July 2022: Louise Shelley‘s recent conference paper for the Game Changers 2022 conference was published. The title is “Armed Non-state Actors and Trafficking: the Global Evolution.”

5 July 2022: Louise Shelley spoke to the Transnational Crime and Terrorism: Threats to the Middle East, Presented at the conference “New Transnational Threats Towards Regional Cooperation in the Middle East,” Center for the Middle East Strategic Studies.

4 July 2022: Louise Shelley provided the opening keynote of the Summer Course on Illicit Trade sponsored by Illicit Trade Institute of the University of Groningen.

30 June 2022: Louise Shelley, Layla Hashemi, and Sarah Meo recently authored a chapter for the book, A World Emerging from Pandemic: Implications for Intelligence and National Security. Their chapter is entitled, “Transnational Crime During a Pandemic – How Criminals Are Capitalizing on the Chaos Caused by COVID-19.”

30 June 2022: Louise Shelley addressed a New Zealand law enforcement delegation sponsored by CINA and DHS on illicit network analysis.

29 June 2022: Louise Shelley addressed the students and faculty on human trafficking in the CINA-GMU sponsored Minority Serving Institutions Week.

29 June 2022: Mahmut Cengiz was quoted in an Insight Crime article entitled, “Turkey: Cocaine Hub Between Europe and the Middle East.”

28 June 2022: Louise Shelley addressed the FACT Coalition meeting on Illicit Finance and Environmental Crime. She spoke on Examining the Financial Crime/ Environmental Crime Nexus.

14-17 June 2022: Shaazka Beyerle served as the keynote speaker in the BIT-ACT (Bottom-Up Initiatives and Anti-Corruption Technologies) Workshop and participated in the 6th Interdisciplinary Corruption Research Forum, organized by the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the University of Bologna.

13 June 2022: TraCCC Director, Dr. Louise Shelley, was awarded with the Earle C. Williams Presidential Medal for Faculty Excellence in Social Impact for her body of work and its social impacts.

13 June 2022: David Luna co-authored an ICAIE report entitled, “The Dark Side of Illicit Economies and TBML: Free Trade Zones, Ports, and Financial Safe Havens.”

10 June 2022: Louise Shelley gave a talk on Detecting and Reacting to Corruptive Actions in Russia and in post-Soviet countries by Zoom at the Haute Ecole ARC –Switzerland, in the Master of Business Administration course.

9 June 2022: Louise Shelley gave a talk to the Intelligence Committee of the AFCEA on the problems of organized crime and corruption in Russia and Ukraine.

3 June 2022: David Luna co-authored an article in Scientific Data (a Nature journal) entitled, “Voluntary consensus based geospatial data standards for the global illegal trade in wild fauna and flora.”

31 May 2022: Mahmut Cengiz authored an article for Homeland Security Today entitled, “Sweden, Finland, and NATO: Pawns in Erdogan’s Bid for Re-election Amid a Tattered Domestic Economy?“

20 May 2022: Louise Shelley was interviewed by GMU’s President Washington on Mason’s Access to Excellence Podcast in an episode entitled, “Russia’s war in Ukraine is tied to corruption, organized crime.”

19 May 2022: Mahmut Cengiz authored an article for Homeland Security Today entitled, “Emerging Cocaine Trafficking Routes Between Latin America and Middle East Fuel Drug Trade Expansion.”

10 May 2022: Louise Shelley, Chu-Chuan Jeng, and Edward Huang published an article in Urban Crime entitled, “Human Trafficking and Urban Safety: Exploring Pathways to Prevention, Protection, Partnerships, and Beyond.”

9 May 2022: Layla Hashemi gave the keynote address for the State Department’s ILVP – World Learning. The title of the session was “Preserving Cultural Heritage & Combating Trafficking of Conflict Antiquities.”

8 May 2022: Louise Shelley was quoted in an OCCRP article entitled, “Fueling Secession, Promising Bitcoins: How a Russian Operator Urged Catalonian Leaders to Break With Madrid.”

6 May 2022: Louise Shelley was interviewed on Dan Abrams Live to discuss more suspicious deaths of Russian oligarchs.

6 May 2022: Louise Shelley was interviewed for The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer on CNN in a segment on how Putin’s reputed girlfriend is set to be sanctioned by the EU.

6 May 2022: David Luna was quoted in a U.S. Council for International Business press release entitled, “USCIB Members Meet With USCTOC Director of the Strategic Division James (JC) Collins.”

29 April 2022: Claudia Escobar was mentioned in an article for The New Yorker entitled, “The Exile of Guatemala’s Anti-Corruption Efforts.”

26 April 2022: Louise Shelley was featured on Dan Abrams Live to discuss how the recent oligarch family deaths appear to be too similar.

26 April 2022: Louise Shelley was part of a joint project that was just published in a special issue of the International Journal on Criminology entitled, “Economies of Violence.” Nazia Hussain, a TraCCC alumna now a Projet Assistant Professor, at the Initiatives for the Future program at the University of Tokyo was also part of the research team.

25 April 2022: Mahmut Cengiz authored an article for Homeland Security Today entitled, “Can the Relationship Between Turkey and the United States Ever Be Repaired?“

22 April 2022: Louise Shelley was interviewed on The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer on CNN for a story entitled, “Two Russian oligarchs and their families found dead within 24 hours.”

21 April 2022: Louise Shelley spoke at the AML Partnership Forum 2022, Washington, DC on Human Trafficking especially on her research on the role of hotels.

20 April 2022: Louise Shelley, Edward Huang, and undergraduate research assistant on our NSF-funded PPE project, Ahna Mohiuddin are mentioned in a GMU article entitled, “For this Mason senior, timing was everything.”

20 April 2022: Louise Shelley was part of an Anti-Corruption Roundtable, held by the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Wally Adeyemo.

19 April 2022: Mahmut Cengiz was interviewed on ARTI TV to speak about increasing cocaine seizures and how the Sinaloa cartel and Hezbollah are laundering money in the Middle East (video is in Turkish, entitled, “ABD’nin uyuşturucu raporu! – Ezo Özer ile ODAK”).

18 April 2022: Louise Shelley was quoted in a Mason News article entitled, “Mason’s first Beinecke scholar is never done learning.”

18 April 2022: Louise Shelley was quoted in an article for the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project entitled, “Abramovich Owned Stake in Company that Won U.S. Gov’t Contracts.”

14 April 2022: Layla Hashemi co-authored an article for the Journal of Quantitative Description entitled, “Five Hundred Days of Farsi Twitter: An overview of what Farsi Twitter looks like, what we know about it, and why it matters.”

12 April 2022: Louise Shelley and Layla Hashemi presented at a workshop on Disinformation & Transnational Crime at the TRANSACT conference, hosted by the Electronic Transactions Association. Louise Shelley spoke about human trafficking and Layla Hashemi spoke about antiquities trafficking.

12 April 2022: Louise Shelley and Layla Hashemi were featured on AML RightSource’s podcast, AML Conversations, in a segment entitled, “AML Conversations: Antiquities Smuggling in the Real and Virtual World.”

12 April 2022: Will Nelson authored an article for Signal entitled, “Dragons of the North: Vikings and Cyber Deterrence.”

11 April 2022: Mahmut Cengiz published an article for Homeland Security Today entitled, “Why Turkey Has Handed Over the Jamal Khashoggi Case to Saudi Arabia.”

7 April 2022: Mahmut Cengiz, Layla Hashemi, and Vladimor Semizhanov authored an article for The Small Wars Journal entitled, “Alternative Ways to Seek Regional and Global Influence: How Shadowy Organizations Serve the Interests of Turkey, Iran, and Russia.”

6 April 2022: Louise Shelley was a panelist for the American Security Project‘s event entitled, “Bear-ing down: The Geopolitical Implications of Russian Sanctions.”

5 April 2022: Louise Shelley was quoted in an article for The Washington Post entitled, “Undercover operation to save endangered animals inspires graphic novel.”

5 April 2022: Mahmut Cengiz authored an article for the International Journal on Criminology entitled, “The Impacts of Organizational Structure on Salafi-Jihadist Terrorist Groups in Africa.”

31 March 2022: Louise Shelley‘s book, Dirty Entanglements: Corruption, Crime, and Terrorism, was mentioned by Frank Vogl, author of The Enablers: How the West Supports Kleptocrats and Corruption-Endangering Our Democracy, in an interview he did for the Corruption, Justice, and Legitimacy Program.

28 March 2022: Mahmut Cengiz published an article for Homeland Security Today entitled, “Should the Houthis Have Remained on U.S. Foreign Terrorist Organizations List?“

25 March 2022: Originally published in 2019, Mahmut Cengiz and Mitchel Roth’s book, “The Illicit Economy in Turkey: How Criminals, Terrorists, and the Syrian Conflict Fuel Underground Markets,” is now in paperback format.

23-24 March 2022: Shaazka Beyerle served as a guest lecturer for a George Washington University Law School course on International Money Laundering, Corruption and Terrorism, taught by Tom Lasich and Jack Smith.

23 March 2022: Louise Shelley was interviewed by Shaye Ganam for 630 CHED radio in Edmonton, Canada, and for 770 CHQR radio in Calgary, Canada to discuss the OCCRP’s Russian Asset Tracker and what the site means for he war in Ukraine.

23 March 2022: Louise Shelley served as a panelist for the Hertie School‘s event, “Can warmongering autocrats be overthrown?” which is part of their Democracy Promotion after Afghanistan series. The event was at 1:00 PM, DC time and the video can be viewed here.

22 March 2022: Will Nelson authored a post for the Schar School’s Center for Security and Policy Studies blog entitled, “The Concert of Autocracies: A Potemkin Village.”

22 March 2022: Louise Shelley was quoted in a Toronto Sun article entitled, “VLAD MONEY: Website tracks staggering riches of Putin insiders.”

21 March 2022: Louise Shelley was quoted in a New York Post article entitled, “New ‘Russian asset tracker’ tallies $17.5B worth of oligarchs’ wealth.”

16 March 2022: Louise Shelley was interviewed for the NPR podcast, On Point, in an episode entitled, “How the global financial system enables oligarchy.”

13 March 2022: Mahmut Cengiz published an article for Homeland Security Today entitled, “How Autocrats Exploit the Definition of Terrorism for Their Own Purposes.”

10 March 2022: Louise Shelley was a featured panelist for the NATO Defense College Foundation‘s Game Changers 2022 conference. She discussed the crime-terror nexus and how illicit trade fuels conflicts in several areas of the world. Watch her session here.

9 March 2022: Louise Shelley was quoted in an article for The Guardian entitled, “Russia oligarchs still able to exploit UK art market loopholes, experts say.”

8 March 2022: Claudia Escobar authored a post for the Justice in the Americas blog entitled, “Being a woman and a judge in Guatemala, yesterday and today.”

4 March 2022: Louise Shelley was quoted in an article for Globe St. entitled, “Weak US Disclosure Rules Conceal CRE Owned by Russia’s Oligarchs.”

3 March 2022: Louise Shelley was interviewed on the ABC program, Nightline, to discuss the disastrous impact Russia’s war in Ukraine will have on Russia’s future. Other parts of the interview with her aired repeatedly on March 5th.

3 March 2022: Louise Shelley was interviewed for Background Briefing with Ian Masters in a segment entitled, “The Limits of Sanctions and Going After Putin’s Enablers Like Trump.”

2 March 2022: Louise Shelley was interviewed on the Law & Crime Network show, Brian Ross Investigates, in a segment entitled, “Do Sanctions Against Russian Oligarchs work?“

2 March 2022: Louise Shelley was quoted in an article for the New York Post entitled, “Art collectors call for boycott of Russian-owned Phillips auction house.”

2 March 2022: Louise Shelley was quoted in an article for Raw Story entitled, “Russian oligarchs stash ill-gotten money in US real estate — out of reach from sanctions.”

2 March 2022: Louise Shelley was quoted in an NBC News article entitled, “Russian money flows through U.S. real estate.”

1 March 2022: Louise Shelley was quoted in an article for the International Business Times entitled, “What is ‘Navalny 35’ List? Payback Time for Insanely Rich Russian Oligarchs Close to Putin?“

28 February 2022: Mahmut Cengiz co-authored an article for the European Scientific Journal entitled, “The ISIS Model and its Influence Over Global Terrorism.”

27 February 2022: Louise Shelley was quoted in an article for the New York Post entitled, “Here’s where Russian oligarchs and their families own property in NYC.”

25 February 2022: Louise Shelley was quoted in an article for Smithsonian Magazine entitled, “Elephant Tusk DNA Exposes Illegal Poaching Networks.”

18 February 2022: Layla Hashemi was interviewed by Ben Baumann for his Roots of Reality podcast in a segment on Counterfeit Drugs. Listen to the podcast here.

17 February 2022: Claudia Escobar was quoted in a CNN article entitled, “En Guatemala se usa la justicia para servir a criminales regionales e internacionales, dice exmagistrada.”

16 February 2022: Worldakkam picked up an article from Deseret News entitled, “Elephant Poachers: How DNA Testing Helps Poachers’ Guidance,” which features a quote from Louise Shelley.

16 February 2022: Louise Shelley was quoted in Deseret News in an article entitled, “How genetic testing helps law enforcement stop elephant poachers,” which was based on Associated Press reporting.

15 February 2022: Shaazka Beyerle and Claudia Escobar each authored a chapter in Untapped Power: Leveraging Diversity and Inclusion for Conflict and Development, edited by Carla Koppell and published by Oxford University Press.

14 February 2022: TraCCC alumla Nazia Hussain co-authored a blog post for the Wilson Center‘s New Security Beat entitled, “Water Mafia and Governance in Karachi.”

14 February 2022: Mahmut Cengiz authored an article for Homeland Security Today entitled, “Activity Shows Terror Groups and Right-Wing Extremists Were Undeterred by COVID-19 Pandemic.”

14 February 2022: Louise Shelley was quoted in a Washington Post article entitled, “DNA analysis of elephant ivory reveals trafficking networks.”

14 February 2022: Louise Shelley was quoted in an Associated Press article entitled, “DNA analysis of elephant ivory reveals trafficking networks.”

9 February 2022: Louise Shelley was quoted in an article for MeriTalk entitled, “Data, Research Challenges Hinder Anti-Human Trafficking Efforts, Witnesses Say.”

8 February 2022: Louise Shelley testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology about Data Challenges Impacting Human Trafficking Research and Development of Anti-Trafficking Technological Tools. Read her testimony here.

29 January 2022: Mahmut Cengiz and Emma Sameth co-authored an article for Homeland Security Today entitled, “ISIS Expansion with Affiliate in Mozambique Increases Terrorist Group’s Threat.”

27 January 2022: Louise Shelley served as a judge for the Anti-Corruption Podcast Contest Awards Ceremony, hosted by the Center for International Private Enterprise.

24 January 2022: Louise Shelley gave the opening keynote for the illicit trade Winter School at the University of Groningen, Netherlands.

20 January 2022: Mahmut Cengiz spoke at the Global Counter Terrorism Council‘s (GCTC) International Counter Terrorism Conference 2022. His topic was “Narco-Terrorism: How the Drug Trade and Terrorism Intersect in the World.” The GCTC is in New Delhi.

17 January 2022: “Antiquities Smuggling in the Real and Virtual World,” edited by Louise Shelley and Layla Hashemi, was published today by Routledge.

13 January 2022: Louise Shelley was quoted in a New York Post article entitled, “Ab$urdi$tan: How shady Kazakh capital creates NYC’s poshest pad.” (Part 1 and Part 2)

11 January 2022: Shaazka Beyerle spoke at USAID’s first Anti-Corruption Evidence and Learning Week in a session on “Evidence on the Impact of Non-Governmental Actors.” The week brought together a broad group of USAID and external practitioners to explore data and evidence on anti-corruption challenges and approaches and exchange practices for applying evidence and learning to address corruption.

11 January 2022: Shaazka Beyerle will teach a course on Human Rights for the Schar School’s Global Politics Fellows Program as an Adjunct Faculty member.

10 January 2022: Mahmut Cengiz recently authored an article for the Small Wars Journal entitled, “ISIS or al-Qaeda: Which Looms as the Greater Threat to Global Security?“

5 January 2022: Kasey Kinnard authored a Topic Brief for TNRC entitled, “Beneficial Ownership Transparency and Natural Resource Corruption.”

3 January 2022: Louise Shelley served as a judge for the OCCRP’s Person of the Year Award in Organized Crime and Corruption and was quoted in the press release. The winner was Aleksandr Lukashenko.

16 December 2021: Louise Shelley was featured on AML RightSource’s AML Voices podcast in a segment entitled, “Human Trafficking 2021 Review and 2022 Preview: Recent initiatives, strategies and challenges.”

23 December 2021: Shaazka Beyerle co-authored a blog post on the Summit for Democracy website entitled, “What’s Next for the S4D? Translating High-Level Talk to Grassroots Action.” This follows up on the December 6 S4D event with Accountability Lab. For that recording, click here.

15 December 2021: Layla Hashemi spoke at an event entitled, “Cybersecurity and Illicit Trade: A Conversation with Dr. Layla M. Hashemi,” hosted by the Security Gender and Development Institute. See the video here.

13 December 2021: Louise Shelley was invited to speak at FATF’s annual Joint Experts’ meeting on money laundering and terrorist financing risks associated with the trade in arts, antiquities, and other cultural objects.

11 December 2021: Mahmut Cengiz recently authored an article in Modern Diplomacy entitled, “New Threats in Afghanistan and Pakistan: Taliban’s Capacity, Tehrik-i Taliban, and ISIS-Khorasan.”

9 December 2021: Thought leadership piece by TraCCC-AITI co-Director Luna: Restoring Integrity in Sports by Sanctioning Criminal Actors and Seizing Their Assets.

8 December 2021: Louise Shelley and Layla Hashemi spoke at a Legit Script course entitled, “Pathways of Crime: How Bad Actors Exploit the Internet and Payment Ecosystems to Funnel Their Wares to Consumers.”

8 December 2021: TraCCC’s recent guest, Judge Carlos Giovanni Ruano Pineda of Guatemala, the head of an organization of judges, was today named by the US State Department as an Anticorruption Champions Awardee.

7 December 2021: Will Nelson, a graduate employee of TraCCC’s AITI, authored an article for the Cipher Brief‘s Academic Incubator entitled, “Containment: A Poor Fit for China.”

6 December 2021: TraCCC hosted a side event as part of the upcoming Summit for Democracy entitled, “Authoritarian States’ Illicit Finance and Kleptocracy: Threats to Democracy, Peace and Security.” Louise Shelley, Claudia Escobar, John Cassara, and Lakshmi Kumar presented, while David Luna and Layla Hashemi moderated. See the video here.

6 December 2021: The Accountability Lab and TraCCC co-organized a side event prior to the Summit for Democracy entitled, “From High-Level Talk to Grassroots Action: How We Can Support Civic Actors to Achieve S4D Commitments.” Fred Bauma (LUCHA DRC), Abigail Bellows (USAID), McDonald Lewanika (Accountability Lab Zimbabwe), and Margaret Mliwa (Ford Foundation) presented while TraCCC’s Shaazka Beyerle moderated the session. See the video here and click here to read the associated blog post.

1 December 2021: Frank Vogl discussed his new book with Louise Shelley in a virtual session. The book is called “The Enablers: How the West Supports Kleptocrats and Corruption – Endangering Our Democracy.”

1 December 2021: Louise Shelley, Layla Hashemi, and Edward Huang gave a panel presentation at 8pm entitled “The Exponential Growth of Counterfeit PPE and other Counterfeits during the COVID Pandemic: Illicit Trade in the Open and Dark Web” for the 24 Hour Conference on Global Organized Crime. Click here to register.

1 December 2021: Mahmut Cengiz presented at the 2021 International Criminology Conference on “The ISIS Model and Its Influence Over Global Terrorism,” hosted by the Policy Studies Organization.

30 November 2021: Claudia Escobar was interviewed on the Radio Ocote podcast in a segment entitled, “Las Recias 2×01 | Claudia Escobar: el precio de hacer lo correcto.”

30 November 2021: Louise Shelley gave a Vision Series lecture on GMU-TV entitled, “How the Smart Use of Data Is Being Used to Fight Transnational Crime.”

30 November 2021: Layla Hashemi was featured as a panelist for Montgomery College’s 2021 Faculty Showcase.

26 November 2021: Claudia Escobar authored an article for Foreign Affairs entitled, “Triangle of Corruption: Why Washington Needs to Get Tough on Central American Kleptocrats.”

24 November 2021: Layla Hashemi authored a policy analysis for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s Fikra Forum entitled, “Threats to Iranian Instagram: Analyzing Iran’s Internet Landscape.”

24 November 2021: Louise Shelley presented to the Western Asia Forum on Regional Security and Transnational Crime on “The Growth of Transnational Crime during the Pandemic: Improving the Response.”

23 November 2021: Alonso Aguirre spoke on a panel following the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26). The panel informed people what happened at COP26 and what will come next.

19 November 2021: Claudia Escobar gave remarks during an Act of homage to Dr. Manuel Ballbé and his work at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. More information here.

18 November 2021: Louise Shelley spoke on US government efforts to address corruption to participants in the Perry Center’s Washington Security and Defense Seminar (WSDS), an annual event designed to provide an orientation on the ins and outs of American national security and defense issues and policies for the benefit of the diplomats and military attachés of the Western Hemisphere assigned to Washington DC.

16 November 2021: Louise Shelley presented at the “Anticorruption Solutions Through Emerging Technologies (ASET) Roundtable,” sponsored by INL, Department of State in support of President Biden’s Summit for Democracy. See 15:55-23:35 in the video.

11 November 2021: Shaazka Beyerle served as a guest lecturer for a Georgetown University School of Foreign Service course on Corruption versus Good Governance, taught by Jodi Vittori.

11 November 2021: Sarah Meo and Louise Shelley co-authored a piece for the Global Policy Journal entitled, “Sex Trafficking and Hotels: Why there is a Need for Effective Corporate Social Responsibility.”

9 November 2021: Louise Shelley presented at the OSCE Expert Roundtable on Corruption Threats from the COVID-19 pandemic, Vienna, Austria (by Zoom).

9 November 2021: Shaazka Beyerle served as a workshop facilitator for an event entitled, “Nonviolent Direct Action to Curtail Corruption,” organized by MARI (Malaysia Reform Initiative) and USAID.

5 November 2021: Alonso Aguirre spoke at Earth Day Network’s COP26 event in a roundtable discussion entitled, “Why Climate Literacy & Civic Skill Building Will Solve the Climate Crisis – Answers from Civil Society, Educators, and Governments.” This fell under the larger UN Conference of the Parties (COP26) event.

4 November 2021: Louise Shelley spoke on “Corrruption and National Security” at the conference on Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Threats: The Roles and Responsibilities of the Security Sector, the Private Sector, and the Civil Society at the conference sponsored by the Friedrich Ebert Shiftung and the Human Security Advocates in Manila, Philippines.

4 November 2021: Shaazka Beyerle served as a guest lecturer for a George Washington University Law School course on International Money Laundering, Corruption and Terrorism, taught by Richard Osterman and Paul Pelletier.

3 November 2021: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera led an academic webinar for the Council on Foreign Relations about the future of U.S.-Mexico relations.

1 November 2021: Mahmut Cengiz was interviewed for American Military University’s Protect and Secure podcast in a segment entitled, “Taliban and ISIS-K Threaten Stability and Security Around the World.”

29 October 2021: TraCCC was pleased to be the virtual Community Solutions Program (CSP) Practicum Host for Allen Muketela, a 2021-22 Fellow from Namibia. CSP is a U.S. Department of State sponsored leadership and exchange program implemented by IREX for early- to mid-career changemakers between 25-38 years of age from over 90 countries. Allen’s 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, and is an experienced facilitator and career guidance and financial literacy mentor for junior and secondary schools in Katima Mulilo. On October 27, 2021, TraCCC convened a webinar on “Nambia: Natural Resources, Equitable Development and Corruption.” Allen presented his practicum research and on-the-ground overview and Dr. A. Alonso Aguirre, Department Chair & Professor, Environmental Science and Policy at George Mason University served as the discussant.

27 October 2021: TraCCC convened a webinar on “Namibia: Natural Resources, Equitable Development and Corruption.” Allen Muketela, a Community Solutions Program (CSP) Fellow from Namibia, presented his practicum research and on-the-ground overview. Dr. A. Alonso Aguirre served as the discussant and Shaazka Beyerle as the facilitator. Click here for the video.

22 October 2022: Layla Hashemi was a commentator for today’s Gender, Peace & Security Next Generation Symposium, which was conducted by Women in International Security.

21 October 2021: David Luna gave the keynote address at the Countering Corruption and Illicit Trade to Secure Greater Prosperity in Central America event, organized by the American Chamber Costa Rica.

18 October 2021: As part of his investiture, GMU’s President Gregory Washington hosted a faculty panel from 5:00 to 6:30 PM about the grand challenges facing Mason, featuring Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera as one of the panelists.

13 October 2021: Claudia Escobar was recently interviewed for a Prensa Libre article entitled, “Congress has a court to suit it, says Claudia Escobar on the election of Cortes.”

12 October 2021: Louise Shelley presented at the 2021 OSCE Mediterranean Conference in Vienna, Austria on a panel called “Strengthening International Cooperation in Fighting Transnational Organized Crime Prompted by the Pandemic.” Her presentation was entitled, “Evolution of Crime during the Covid Pandemic.”

30 September 2021: GMU’s Institute for Digital InnovAtion talked with Louise Shelley about her research areas, TraCCC, and recent developments and achievements of the Center.

29 September 2021: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was recently quoted in an NBC article entitled, “Terrifying videos, threats: How kidnappers extort migrants’ relatives for ransoms.”

28 September 2021: Louise Shelley spoke remotely at the launch of the Global Initiative on Transnational Organized Crime launch of the Global Organized Crime Index.

28 September 2021: Louise Shelley gave a talk virtually on “El comercio ilícito y el ámbito marítimo” (Illicit Trade in the Maritime Environment) at the Encuentro Académico Latinoamericano de Derecho Marítimo y Crimen Organizado Transnacional (Latin American Academic Meeting on Maritime Law and Organized Crime) sponsored by the University of Peace in Costa Rico with which TraCCC has a memo of understanding.

24 September 2021: Claudia Escobar was recently quoted in an International Bar Association article entitled, “Covid-19: Pandemic heightens calls for international court to tackle grand corruption.”

24 September 2021: Louise Shelley was recently featured on ALM RightSource’s podcast series, AML Conversations, with John Byrne. The subject was Wildlife Trafficking.

23 September 2021: Claudia Escobar was recently interviewed for the El Experimento podcast, which is doing a series about the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG).

21 September 2021: Claudia Escobar was recently quoted in an International Bar Association article entitled, “Anti-corruption: Central America becoming ‘the next Afghanistan.'”

21 September 2021: Claudia Escobar was recently interviewed by Emisoras Unidas about the new U.S. sanctions on Guatemala’s AG Porras and how it will affect relations between the two countries.

21 September 2021: Claudia Escobar was recently quoted in a Publinews article entitled, “Exmagistrada: sanción a Porras es grave y afectará relaciones bilaterales.”

21 September 2021: Layla Hashemi of TraCCC presented its NSF D-ISN: Collaborative Research: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Understanding, Modeling, and Disrupting Drug and Counterfeit Illicit Supply Chains research at the second round of Lightning Talks at The Frontiers of Computing in Health & Society Conference at GMU.

21 September 2021: Louise Shelley spoke via Zoom at CNAM for the eleventh annual National Symposium on Strategic Research in Paris, France. She spoke about her paper, entitled, “LE CRIME ORGANISÉ : GRAND GAGNANT DES CRISES.” Her section starts 1 hour, 44 minutes into the video.

18 September 2021: Claudia Escobar was recently quoted in an ElPeriodico article entitled, “Ex magistrada Escobar: ‘Los corruptos pueden dormir tranquilos gracias a la ilegítima Fiscal General.'”

18 September 2021: Claudia Escobar was recently quoted in an article for La Hora entitled,”Exmagistrada Escobar: Gracias a C. Porras ‘los corruptos pueden dormir tranquilos.'”

8 September 2021: Louise Shelley and Michael Gfoeller’s recent article on the coming flood of illicit antiquities and drugs from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan was recently featured on the Council of Foreign Relations’ Weekly Member Wall Digest.

8 September 2021: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera and Naoru Koizumi co-authored an article for the Small Wars Journal entitled, “Messengers of a Drug War in the Cyberspace: The Case of Tamaulipas.”

8 September 2021: The work of Louise Shelley, Edward Huang, and Layla Hashemi, as well as that of healthcare and consumer goods company 3M, was recognized by the World Trademark Review in their 2021 North America Team of the Year award. Thanks to their efforts, over 52 million counterfeit medical respirators were kept out of the legitimate supply chain during the ongoing pandemic.

6 September 2021: Louise Shelley and Alonso Aguirre of Environmental Science and Policy hosted a panel at the International Conference of the IUCN in Marseille, France. The title of the session was “The elephant in the room: Raising up corruption on the conservation agenda” and the speakers included: Charles Barber: Senior Biodiversity Advisor, World Resources Institute
Gretta Fenner: Managing Director, Basel Institute on Governance
Giannina Segnini: Director of the Master of Science Data Journalism Program at the Journalism School at Columbia University in New York
Atuweni-tupochile Agbermodji: AML/CFT Advisor, UNODC, Regional Office of South Malawi

2 September 2021: Louise Shelley gave a keynote speech at the 3rd Congress of PLD-FT and TRAC in Brazil on the Dynamics of Terrorism and Its Financing on a panel with Matthew Levitt and Moderated by Rashmi Singh.

29 August 2021: Louise Shelley was recently interviewed for RFI about how the Taliban will finance international terrorism by selling archeological antiquities.

28 August 2021: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was recently interviewed by President Washington for GMU’s Access to Excellence podcast.

26 August 2021: TraCCC researchers were recognized as part of the winning team by the World Trademark Review for their work on countering the counterfeit trade in medical masks through their partnership with 3M, the winning company.

26 August 2021: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was recently quoted in a Washington Post article entitled, “‘America First Lite’: Afghanistan withdrawal brings a Biden Doctrine into focus.”

24 August 2021: Louise Shelley and Michael Gfoeller recently authored an article for Inkstick entitled, “The Coming Tsunami of Illicit Antiquities from Afghanistan.”

20 August 2021: TraCCC alumnus Bilal Wahab recently authored an article for Foreign Policy entitled, “After Afghanistan Collapse, Iraqis Fear They Could Be Next.”

16 August 2021: Jennifer Oreta arrived from the Philippines as a Fulbright scholar and joined TraCCC.

5 August 2021: Louise Shelley was recently quoted in a Schar School article entitled, “At the Schar School: Teaching Climate Change as a National Security Issue.”

27 July 2021: Louise Shelley was recently quoted in an article in Government Technology entitled “Experts: U.S. Policy Can Slow Down Russia-Based Ransomware.”

26 July 2021: Louise Shelley and Layla Hashemi edited a Routledge book, set to release December 29, 2021, called “Antiquities Smuggling in the Real and Virtual World.”

24 July 2021: Louise Shelley spoke on July 24th at the RAND Russian Business Leaders Forum on Trends in Transnational Crime and Law enforcement and discussed problems of corporate raiding and ransomware attacks in the larger business environment.

22 July 2021: David Luna recently authored an op-ed for Morning Consult entitled, “Why We Must Confront the Growing Threat to National Security Posed by Illicit Economies and Cesspools of Corruption and Organized Crime.”

22 July 2021: Dr. Louise Shelley spoke at today’s Atlantic Council virtual event on Russia, cybercrime, and a new phase in US-Russian cybersecurity.

15 July 2021: David Luna, who co-directs the AITI, testified on July 14th before the Senate Committee on Finance’s Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth. The hearing was called “Defending and Investing in U.S. Competitiveness: The Impact of China’s Illicit Economies to U.S. National Security.”

13 July 2021: Dr. Louise Shelley spoke at the ICCF (International Conservation Caucus Foundation) Summit on Illegal Resource Extraction at the Willard Hotel In Washington, DC. She spoke on the panel talking about illicit commodity extraction and global deforestation.

8 July 2021: Dr. Louise Shelley gave a lecture in Spanish on July 7th to the Human Trafficking Center of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico City under the MOU between TraCCC and the Center. She talked on the business of human trafficking and the role of technology. There were over 75 attendees from 11 countries.

6 July 2021: Dr. Louise Shelley gave the opening key note address of the Illicit Trade Summer school at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands on July 5th.

1 July 2021: TraCCC’s positive work on addressing counterfeit PPE was mentioned at the Congressional Trademark Caucus’s briefing, “Addressing the Impact of Counterfeiting on Brand Owners and Consumers During the COVID-19 Pandemic.”

29 June 2021: Dr. Louise Shelley spoke today at Meridian House on Criminal Networks and Technology at their International Dialogues to Fight Illicit Economies event. Her presentation was entitled, “Cybercrime: The Next Frontier of Transnational Organized Crime.”

28 June 2021: Dr. Louise Shelley, Dr. Yulia Krylova, and Judy Deane recently authored a publication on corporate raiding entitled, “Reiderstvo 2.0: The Illegal Raiding Pandemic in Russia.”

28 June 2021: TraCCC has entered into an agreement with the Human Trafficking Center of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico City to study, develop networks, and recommend international policies to reduce human trafficking. It will be led by Dr. Louise Shelley and Mario Luis Fuentes, and was initiated by Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera.

17 June 2021: TraCCC Senior Fellow David Luna was recently elected as a Director of the Board of Directors at the United Nations Association of the United States of America, National Capital Area (UNA-NCA).

15 June 2021: George Mason University and the University of Peace (UPEACE) in San Jose, Costa Rica recently established a memorandum of understanding (MOU).

4 June 2021: Dr. Mahmut Cengiz was recently interviewed in Turkish-language media outlet Medyascope for an article on drug smuggling entitled, “Uluslararası uyuşturucu ticareti ve Türkiye – Doç. Dr. Mahmut Cengiz: ‘Kaçakçılar, yakalanma riskleri düşük ve hukukun üstünlüğü ile devlet gücünün zayıf olduğu ülkeleri tercih ediyor.'”

27 May 2021: Dr. Louise Shelley was recently interviewed for Asia Pacific Today in a segment entitled, “The Drug Economy, Part 2” where she spoke about fentanyl and deaths from it during the COVID-19 pandemic.

20 May 2021: Dr. Layla M. Hashemi has been awarded a Montgomery College Outstanding Faculty Award for Excellence in Scholarly or Professional Accomplishment Award for the current academic year. The award, which comes with a cash prize, recognizes her teaching and associated activities for the department, college, and community. She was acknowledged with other award winners at the Spring 2021 closing meetings.

20 May 2021: Dr. Louise Shelley spoke today at ACAMS Europe in a segment called “Financing Terror – How It’s Done and How We Fight It.”

19 May 2021: John Cassara recently joined TraCCC as a Senior Fellow. He’s an AML/CFT expert with decades of experience, as well as the author of several books. Recently, he served as an instructor for TraCCC’s trade-based money laundering executive certification course, held this past spring.

13 May 2021: Dr. Camilo Pardo recently published a paper for the Targeting Natural Resource Corruption Project entitled, “The International Links of Peruvian Illegal Timber: A Trade Discrepancy Analysis.”

7 May 2021: Dr. Louise Shelley was recently quoted in an article for The New Republic entitled, “How America Became the Money Laundering Capital of the World.”

4 May 2021: Dr. Louise Shelley and Dr. Edward Huang”s research on a a 5-year grant from the National Science Foundation to analyze supply chains of counterfeit goods was discussed.

3 May 2021: Dr. Louise Shelley was recently quoted in an article for The Wire China entitled, “Opioid Whack-a-Mole.”

29 April 2021: Dr. Louise Shelley and Dr. Edward Huang were quoted in a recent GMU article about illicit trade’s public health impacts and a National Science Foundation grant to combat its pernicious effects entitled, “Busting crimes and saving lives: Mason’s multidisciplinary research in action.”

27 April 2021: TraCCC alumnus Sveinn Helgason recently authored an article for the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime entitled, “Brutal murder shocks Iceland, prompts government to focus on organized crime.”

26 April 2021: TraCCC’s and the Antonin Scalia Law School’s November 2018 conference on authoritarian regimes’ use and abuse of INTERPOL red notices, as well as testimony from Dr. Louise Shelley, contributed to the US Board of Immigration reversing Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE’s) decision to deport a pro-democracy Russian activist. The associated conference report was cited in the decision from the BIA.

23 April 2021: Dr. Mahmut Cengiz recently published an article in Modern Diplomacy entitled, “Under False Pretenses: Who Directed the Assassin to Kill the Russian Ambassador in Turkey in 2016?“

23 April 2021: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was recently quoted in an AP article entitled, “Mexico plans 17 shelters for children on southern border.”

23 April 2021: Dr. Mahmut Cengiz recently co-authored an article in the Studies in Conflict & Terrorism Journal entitled, “Names Are Never Only Names: A Nominal Analysis of Terrorist Organizations.”

22 April 2021: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was recently quoted in a CNN article entitled, “Report: Human smugglers increasingly use Facebook to advertise services on the US-Mexico border.”

21 April 2021: TraCCC alumnus Bilal Wahab recently co-authored an article in the National Interest entitled, “Can New Tech Save Iraq’s Old Economy?“

12 April 2021: Dr. Mahmut Cengiz recently published an article in the European Security Journal entitled, “Beheading as a Signature Method of Jihadist Terrorism from Syria to France.”

9 April 2021: TraCCC is excited to announce the launch of our new Anti-Illicit Trade Institute. The institute aims to become a global hub for research and training to fight the multi-trillion dollar illegal economy.

7 April 2021: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was recently interviewed by KRGV, Rio Grande TV, in a segment entitled, “Experts say new factors push more migrants to the U.S.“

5 April 2021: Dr. Louise Shelley and Layla Hashemi recently co-authored the “Antiquities Trade, Illicit” entry in the Encyclopedia of Big Data.

2 April 2021: Dr. Mahmut Cengiz and Dr. Kutluer Karademir recently co-authored an article in Modern Diplomacy entitled, “Tales vs. the Truth: Was the United States Really Behind Turkey’s July 15 Coup Attempt?“

2 April 2021: TraCCC fellow David Luna announced a partnership between the OECD and TraCCC’s Anti-Illicit Trade Institute during the OECD’s Plenary Meeting on Countering Illicit Trade.

26 March 2021: TraCCC alumna Dr. Nazia Hussain recently authored a blog post entitled, “Complex Challenges in an Urban World,” in reference to an event she organized at the University of Tokyo.

26 March 2021: Dr. Louise Shelley moderated and spoke on a TNRC panel entitled, “Uncovering Corruption: The role of investigative journalism in combatting environmental crime and prompting accountability,” which followed up on a March 11 event of the same name.

26 March 2021: On March 25, Dr. Louise Shelley gave a talk about “Urban Environments and Transnational Crime” as part of a University of Tokyo workshop entitled “Complex Challenges in an Urban World,” organized by TraCCC alumna, Dr. Nazia Hussain.

26 March 2021: On March 19, Dr. Louise Shelley gave a talk at the Deans Annual Meeting, hosted by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, on Human Trafficking and the Systems Impact of COVID-19.

25 March 2021: TraCCC fellow, David Luna, Chair of the Anti-Illicit Trade Expert Group, Business at OECD, spoke on March 25th at the OECD 9th TF-CIT (Task Force for Countering Illicit Trade) at its meeting “Countering Illicit Trade for a Strong Recovery.”

23 March 2021: Dr. Louise Shelley will be testifying on Thursday, March 25, before the House Financial Services Committee in a virtual hearing entitled, “Ending Exploitation: How the Financial System Can Work to Dismantle the Business of Human Trafficking.” Read her testimony here. Watch her testimony here (starts at 22:25).

23 March 2021: Dr. Louise Shelley was recently quoted in a Foreign Policy article entitled, “The Aid Organization That Wasn’t.”

17 March 2021: Dr. Louise Shelley spoke on a panel of Ashoka University on March 16, 2021 on a panel on UN Sustainability Goal 16: Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies.

15 March 2021: Dr. Louise Shelley was recently interviewed by Kieran Beer for the Financial Crime Matters podcast in a segment entitled, “Focusing on Illicit Trade with Louise Shelley.”

15 March 2021: Dr. Louise Shelley recently authored the “Transnational Crime” entry in the Encyclopedia of Big Data.

12 March 2021: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was recently quoted in an NBC article entitled, “Mexican women have been physically, sexually abused for participating in protests.”

10 March 2021: Dr. Louise Shelley and TraCCC’s own Amy Melki were featured in the most recent edition of The Pulse magazine, published by the Schar School.

23 February 2021: TraCCC’s own Kate Kerr, was recently featured in a Schar article entitled, “Three Biodefense Grads Set to Lead Global Health Organization.”

22 February 2021: TraCCC fellow, Shaazka Beyerle, will be giving a seminar on Wednesday, February 24, on “How Citizens Drive Change: People Power to Impact Corruption,” organized by the University of Bologna’s BIT-ACT Project (Bottom-Up Initiatives and Anti-Corruption Technologies). The one-hour session will cover such topics as: how citizens organize to impact corruption, broader lessons for the anticorruption sphere, and how can the international community constructively engage with and support peaceful movements and campaigns directly or indirectly tackling corruption?

February 24, from 16:00-17:00 GMT/11:00-12:00 a.m. EST. Details and link to join seminar can be found here.

17 February 2021: David Luna recently published an article entitled, “Biden’s Foreign Policy Shift Should Address Cross-Border Corruption and Illicit Trade” in the South China Morning Post.

10 February 2021: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was recently quoted in a CNN article entitled, “Smugglers spread misinformation at the border. The White House says now is not the time to come.”

10 February 2021: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was recently quoted in an El Tiempo Latino article entitled, “Expertos opinan sobre plan de inmigración de Biden: aciertos y riesgos.”

9 February 2021: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera recently appeared in Aristegui Noticias to discuss her new book, “Las Cinco Vidas de Genaro García Luna.” The segment is entitled, “‘Mi pasión es la inteligencia’, decía García Luna, según libro | Video“

9 February 2021: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera recently appeared in a podcast on Radio UNAM to discuss her new book, “Las Cinco Vidas de Genaro García Luna.” Discussion begins at 02:11:09.

8 February 2021: Dr. Mahmut Cengiz recently wrote a chapter entitled, “Prevention of the Procurement of Arms and Explosives by Terrorist Groups” in Handbook of Terrorism Prevention and Preparedness, edited by Alex P. Schmid (The Hague: ICCT Press Publication, 2021)

2 February 2021: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera recently appeared on Los Periodistas to discuss her new book, “Las Cinco Vidas de Genaro García Luna.” The segment is entitled, “JOAQUÍN LÓPEZ-DORIGA fue PORRISTA de GARCÍA LUNA: Guadalupe Correa.”

2 February 2021: TraCCC’s Alonso Aguirre and Louise Shelley, among others, recently published an article entitled, “Opportunities for Transdisciplinary Science to Mitigate Biosecurity Risks From the Intersectionality of Illegal Wildlife Trade With Emerging Zoonotic Pathogens,” in Frontiers Journal.

28 January 2021: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was recently quoted in a BBC article entitled, “Masacre en Tamaulipas: qué es la ‘frontera chica’ de México, la zona clave para todo tipo de tráfico ilegal a Estados Unidos.”

25 January 2021: Dr. Louise Shelley was a keynote speaker at the Groningen University Winter School on Illicit Trade on January 25, 2021.

24 January 2021: TraCCC affiliate Alonso Aguirre recently took part in writing a report entitled, “Wildlife Trade, Pandemics and the Law: Fighting This Year’s Virus with Last Year’s Law” in coordination with Legal Atlas.

22 January 2021: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was recently quoted in a Vice News article entitled, “Mexico’s President Just Told the DEA to Check Itself, Worsening Tensions With U.S.“

19 January 2021: The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has admitted the Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC) at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University as a member.

17 January 2021: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was recently quoted in a Radio Canada article entitled, “Alors que Biden succède à Trump, que peuvent espérer les migrants?“

2 January 2021: TraCCC affiliate David Luna recently wrote an op-ed for Business Insider entitled, “Anonymous shell companies have undermined America’s economy and national security for years -Congress finally made sure this shady practice is banned.”

2 January 2021: Adjunct Professor John Byrne was featured in a New York Times article entitled, “Congress Poised to Apply Banking Regulations to Antiquity Market.”

31 December 2020: Dr. Louise Shelley was quoted in a CNN Brasil article entitled, “Consórcio de jornalistas nomeia Bolsonaro ‘personalidade do ano’ da corrupção“

30 December 2020: Dr. Louise Shelley was quoted in a Rappler news article entitled, “Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro is ‘Person of the Year’ in organized crime, corruption.”

30 December 2020: Dr. Shelley served as a judge for OCCRP’s Person of the Year in Organized Crime and Corruption and was quoted in the press release

16 December 2020: TraCCC’s Haider Semaisim was recently featured by the Schar School and discusses the terrorism database in an article entitled, “Tracking Terrorists at the Schar School is ‘Fighting Through the Keyboard’“

15 December 2020: TraCCC affiliate Layla Hashemi participated in a panel on “Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery: The Roles of Finance and Tech” hosted by Women in International Security. View the video here.

13 December 2020: TraCCC’s David Luna published an article on LinkedIn entitled, “Fight Back with Us: Saving the Vaquitas and Other Endangered Species Against Greedy Bad Actors, Violent Criminals, and Complicit Corrupt Facilitators“

4 December 2020: Dr. Louise Shelley appeared on News Nation on Friday night discussing the breakup of a human smuggling network in Houston, Texas.

1 December 2020: TraCCC’s Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera spoke at a Schar event on Women Seeking Refuges: Displacement and Protection in 2021.

25 November 2020: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was a panelist in “Maras, Pandillas y Crimen Organizado en Ciudades de EEUU, MX y Centroamérica” for the series entitled “Migraciones en Ciudades de las Américas.” This was an International seminar organized by Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro

24 November 2020: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was a panelist in “Seguridad Multidimensional, Derechos a la Ciudad y Fronteras: ¿Cambios en la Relación con Estados Unidos?” by Universidad de Tijuana

19 November 2020: Dr. Louise Shelley gave a virtual keynote speech in Spanish at Cátedra “Trata de Personas”, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

17 November 2020: Dr. Shelley was quoted in an NPR article entitled, “Inside China’s Online Fentanyl Chemical Networks Helping Fuel the Opioid Crisis.”

12 November 2020: Simona Meloria recently published a book entitled Cigarette Smuggling in Naples funded by TraCCC and featuring a preface written by Dr. Louise Shelley. The book was published by Napoli: Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane, 2020.

10 November 2020: Dr. Shelley’s most recent book, Dark Commerce, was just released in paperback by Princeton University Press.

10 November 2020: TraCCC affiliate David Luna was recently highlighted in an article entitled, “Anti-Illicit Trade Institute Course Begins – Meet the Co-Director,” published by the Schar School.

10 November 2020: TraCCC participated in panels titled “Disrupting Drug and Counterfeit Supply Chains” and “Disrupting the Illicit Antiquities Trade in the Real and Virtual World” at the Global Initiative 24 Hour Conference on Global Organized Crime. View the videos here and here. Read the related Antiquities Coalition article here.

8 November 2020: Dr. Mahmut Cengiz has a new publication, The Impacts of Authoritarianism on Organized Crime in Turkey, in the Small Wars Journal.

6 November 2020: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was a webinar organizer for “La Relación EEUU-México: Visión desde Estados Unidos,” as part of the CASEDE series on “US elections”

4 November 2020: Dr. Shelley was the keynote speaker of the opening of the Illicit trade center at University of Groningen, her keynote was entitled, “Exploring the Links Between Illicit Trade and Sustainability.”

26 October 2020: TraCCC’s Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was featured in a podcast entitled, “Women from the Northern Triangle: Escaping Violence?“, produced by the Wilson Center

22 October 2020: Dr. Louise Shelley served as the keynote speaker, discussing illicit trade and supply chains under COVID, for the MAC virtual regional.

22 October 2020: TraCCC’s Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was recently quoted in an NPR article entitled, “Mexicans Wonder What A Biden Victory Would Mean for US-Mexico Relations.”

19 October 2020: Dr. Shelley was recently quoted in an article by DW entitled, “How ING Bank in Poland Helped Russians Launder Money.”

16 October 2020: TraCCC’s Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was recently quoted in an AP News article entitled, “Arrest of Former Mexican Defense Minister Shakes Military.”

5 October 2020: Dr. Shelley discusses illicit supply chains in an article in the Miami Herald entitled, “Cocaine, Meth, and Weed Prices Have Skyrocketed in Miami, Here’s Why.”

5 Ocotober 2020: TraCCC’s Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was featured in an AP News article entitled, “Dissolved Migrant Caravan Sign of Tougher Guatemala Stance.”

5 October 2020: Dr. Louise Shelley participated in an Atlantic Council event entitled, “Lubyanka Federation: How the FSB Determines the Politics and Economics of Russia.”

28 September 2020: Dr. Louise Shelley is cited in an article entitled, “Stolen Lives: The Harrowing Story of Two Girls Sold into Sexual Slavery” by National Geographic.

18 September 2020: TraCCC fellow, Shaazka Beyerle is the co-author of an article entitled, “Nonviolent Action in Myanmar: Challenges and Lessons for Civil Society and Donors” published by the United States Institute for Peace.

16 September 2020: Dennis Dunleavy recently published an article, entitled “TBML Conference Produces Strategic Roadmap to Address Worldwide Growing Threat” highlighting the success of TraCCC’s 2019 Trade-Based Money Laundering Conference.

8 September 2020: Read how TraCCC’s Amy Melki’s family found hope in music throughout the Beiruit explosions.

3 September 2020: Louise Shelley, Pi and Edward Huang, co-Pi, won a five year grant from NSF for research on Drug and Counterfeit Illicit Supply Chains.

30 August 2020: Dr. Shelley’s article, Illicit Trade and Terrorism, was published in Volume 14 of Perspectives on Terrorism.

21 August 2020: Dr. Shelley spoke at a Workshop on Enhanced Supply Chain Crime During the Pandemic for CCICADA.

13 August 2020: Dr. Shelley moderated: Pandemic Profiteers: Trends in Crime and Corruption Sponsored International Center for Journalists with OCCRP (Organized Crime and Corruption Report Project).

13 August 2020: Dr. Louise Shelley co-authored an article entitled “The Evolution of Human Trafficking During the COVID-19 Pandemic” that was recently published in the Council on Foreign Relations.

12 August 2020: TraCCC affiliate David Luna’s op-ed, “How COVID-19 is proving a boon for criminal networks’ illicit trade, endangering international security” was published in the South China Morning Post.

30 July 2020: TraCCC recently partnered with the Wildlife Trafficking Alliance to combat wildlife trafficking and raise awareness on the issue.

29 July 2020: Dr. Shelley’s article entitled, “Fentanyl, COVID-19, and Public Health” was recently published by the World Medical and Health Policy Journal.

16 July 2020: TraCCC alumna Alexander Kupatadze recently authored an article entitled, “How smugglers are shifting staggering amounts of contraband despite the pandemic” featured on The Conversation.

15 July 2020: Dr. Shelley recently led a virtual presentation for the D.C. ACAMS Chapter discussing illicit trade and online payments.

8 July 2020: TraCCC’s Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was featured in an AP News article entitled, “Mexico President Heads to Washington for Meeting with Trump.”

28 June 2020: Dr. Louise Shelley recently authored an article discussing cyberworld crime. Louise Shelley, “Facing Cyberworld Crime: Different Approaches Hamper Law Enforcement,” in Confronting Criminal Terrorist Threats: The Reshaping on non-State Actors,” Rome: Nato Defense College Foundation, 2020, pp.45-47.

23 June 2020: Dr. A. Alonso Aguirre and Dr. Louise Shelley participated in a panel discussing Illegal wildlife markets, zoonotic disease transfer and corruption as part of the Targeting Natural Resource Corruption project with WWF.

23 June 2020: Dr. Louise Shelley, along with Alonso Aguirre and Illicit Trade students Hailey Frye and Richard Catherina, authored an article entitled, “Illicit Wildlife Trade, Wet Markets and COVID-19: Preventing Future Pandemics“ published in World Medical and Health Policy.

21 June 2020: Dr. Louise Shelley is featured in an article entitled, “Wuhan’s Shuttered Fentanyl Labs Leave Field Clear for Russia” published by The Times of London.

18 June 2020: Dr. Mahmut Cengiz co-authored an article entitled, “Why alafi-Jihadist Terrorist Groups Pledge Allegiance to Al Qaeda or ISIS” that appeared in the International Journal of Criminology.

18 June 2020: Gregory Koblentz recently co-authored an article entitled, “Hear, see, speak no COVID: Why the Trump administration is bungling the response to the pandemic” that was published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

18 June 2020: Dr. Louise Shelley and Leah Meyer’s article entitled “Human Trafficking Network Investigations: The Role of Open Source Intelligence and Large-Scale Data Analytics in Investigating Organized Crime,” was published in the International Journal of Criminology.

12 June 2020: TraCCC alumnus Alexander Kupatadze was recently published by RUSI in an article entitled, Organised Crime and the COVID-19 Outbreak: Repositioning the State.

9 June 2020: Dr. Shelley was published in an article entitled, “Lessons on How Not to Disrupt Crime” by OCCRP.

6 June 2020: Criminal Investigations and Network Analysis (CINA) released a white paper entitled, “The Effects of COVID-19 Response on Criminal Network Activity and Investigations” featuring the expertise and experiences of Dr. Shelley and four GMU students from her Illicit Trade course.

5 June 2020: The Fairfax times wrote an article highlighting TraCCC students and their work in an article entitled, “George Mason University group works on a global terrorism database for the US State Department”

1 June 2020: TraCCC’s Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was published in SinEmbargo MX in an article entitled, “Cassandra and the Joker” discussing the protests regarding the death of George Floyd.27 May 2020: The Oral History Project of Moscow University’s History Department just added a video that discusses Dr. Shelley’s youth in Russia and friendship with a founder of the Moscow Helsinki Group.

26 May 2020: Dr. Louise Shelley participated as a panelist in a Wilson Center event on Violent Non-State Actors and COVID-19.

25 May 2020: Dr. Shelley is featured in a Daily Mail article entitled, “Cartels are hemorrhaging millions with traffickers forced to take more risks moving cocaine and cash across the US.”

20 May 2020: TraCCC’s Layla Hashemi gave a presentation entitled, Dynamics of Contention: Media, Protest, and Resistance in Authoritarian Contest, to a group of Women in Transparency.

18 May 2020: TraCCC’s Rebecca Cooper wrote an article, entitled “A Classroom on Illicit Trade Turns into a Pandemic-Inspired Policy Laboratory,” for the Schar School highlighting how Dr. Shelley’s Illicit Trade course has helped to pave the way for policy.

12 May 2020: Greg Koblentz participated in a online webinar on May 12th with George Mason’s Institute for Sustainable Earth on Preparedness and Social Resilience.

12 May 2020: SCHEV, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, has just approved a Certificate in Illicit Trade analysis that will start in Fall 2020. This may be the first certificate of its kind in the US.

12 May 2020: Professor Olena Shostko of National University “Yaroslav the Wise Law Academy of Ukraine” who was a visiting Fulbright scholar at TraCCC in 2013-2014 working on anti-corruption just published an article entitled “Promoting the Legal Protection of Anti-Corruption Whistleblowers in Ukraine,” in Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization, Vol. 28, No. 2, Spring 2020, pp, 229-245.

11 May 2020: Professor Maurice Kuglar participated in a Schar Series webinar discussing the reopening of the economy after COVID 19.

11 May 2020: TraCCC’s Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera recently published an op-ed for The Hill entitled, “COVID-19 and the Future of North American Borders.“

6 May 2020: TraCCC’s Global Terrorism Trends and Analysis Center was featured in an article, entitled “What Does it Take to Understand Global Terrorism?”, by the Schar School discussing the work and the goals of the project.

6 May 2020: Dr. Shelley participated as a virtual panelist for CIPE’s latest COVID-19 and Corruption Event.

27 April 2020: Professor Maurice Kuglar participated in a Schar Series webinar that focused on exit strategies with pandemic control that flattens the curve after lockdowns end.

25 April 2020: Dirty Entanglements: Corruption, Crime and Terrorism, published in 2014 by Cambridge University Press was recently published in Kurdish.

23 April 2020: Dr. Shelley was featured in an article discussing COVID-19 and fentanyl. View the article in the Los Angeles Times, “Wuhan was a fentanyl capital. Then Coronavirus hit.”

23 April 2020: Dr. Shelley’s new book, Dark Commerce, was #3 on Transparency International’s Book List of top books for World Book Day.22 April 2020: Louise Shelley was on a panelist on the WIIS (Women in International Security) earth day panel on environmental crime and corruption on April 22nd.

20 April 2020: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera recently discussed how the cartels are taking advantage of the coronavirus in a Q&A with the Schar School.

19 April 2020: Dr. Shelley was featured in an AP News Article entitled, “Cartels are Scrambling,” that discussed how COVID-19 is affecting the global drug trade.

7 April 2020: Dr. Louise Shelley discusses COVID-19 in a Schar School article entitled, “Q&A with Louise Shelley: COVID-19 and Illicit Trade.”

25 March 2020: TraCCC affiliate David Luna recently published a blog entitled “Fake Medicines Kill: Trade in Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals Poses Significant Threats to Public Health” on LinkedIn.

19 February 2020: TraCCC affiliated professor Dr. Alonso Aguirre is featured in a New York Times article entitled “To Prevent Next Coronavirus, Strop the Wildlife Trade” discussing the Coronavirus and Wildlife trade.

10 February 2020: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera is featured in an AP News article entitled, “In the Heart of Mexico’s Violence, Disillusion Grows“, discussing cartel and organized crime violence in Mexico.

29 January 2020: Layla Hashemi appeared on Real Fiction Radio Broadcast in a segment entitled, “Understanding Iran”.

27 January 2020: Dr. Mahmut Cengiz’ latest article, “IRGC Threat In The Middle East: How Safe Are Americans In Turkey?” was featured in the Small Wars Journal.

23 January 2020: Louise Shelley spoke at the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force meeting on January 23, 2020 devoted to Human Trafficking Awareness in a Multi-Cultural Setting. She spoke on “Using Metadata to track Trends and Cultures in Human Trafficking.”

21 January 2020: Dr. Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was quoted in a New York Times article entitled, “Mexico Begins Flying, Busing Migrants Back to Honduras.”

12 January 2020: TraCCC’s Layla Hashemi led a discussion on social media and its impact on women in Iran entitled, “Women, Social Media, and Dissent in Iran,” that was featured by the National Museum of Asian Art

8 January 2020: Traccc’s Layla Hashemi was recently published in the Washington Post discussing Soleimani’s killing and social media in an article entitled “Here’s what Iranian Twitter thinks of the U.S. drone strikes”

31 December 2019: Traccc’s alumnus Bilal Wahab was on the PBS news hour: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-iran-could-benefit-from-iraqi-outrage-over-u-s-airstrikes30 December 2019: Traccc’s alumnus Bilal Wahab was published by the Washington Institute in an article entitled, “Escalation in Iraq: How to Limit the Damage and Reestablish Sovereignty”

17 December 2019: Traccc’s Layla Hashemi was selected to be on a NATO Security Symposium panel discussed in article by the Schar School.

9 December 2019: Dr. Shelley spoke about terrorism, trafficking, and money laundering at the NATO Defense Foundation in Rome. Confronting Criminal/Terrorist Threats. The reshaping of non-state actors

http://www.natofoundation.org/conference/confronting-criminal-threats-nato-foundation/

2 December 2019: Dr. Shelley was chosen to be on a panel of eight experts in the field of organized crime, corruption and terrorism that will select OCCRP’s 2019 Person of the Year.

29 November 2019: Dr. Shelley is cited in an article by the Vancouver Sun entitled “Anatomy of Money Laundering in B.C. Real Estate”.

26 November 2019: Dr. Shelley was interviewed by phone and discussed human trafficking with Channel News Asia in Singapore.

15 November 2019: Dr. Shelley spoke at the conference on “The Life and Legacy of Lyudmila Alexeyeva: A Symposium on Human Rights in Russia-Past, Present and Future. She was on the panel on “Monitoring courts, police, and prisons.” Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Affairs, Indiana University, November 15, 2019.

6 November 2019: Dr. Shelley was featured in the Mason Author Series discussing her book, Dark Commerce.

5 November 2019: Dr. Shelley is cited in an article by Michael Reagan, grandson of President Reagan, discussing the consequences of the potential legalization of prostitution in article published by NewsMax.

1 November 2019: Dr. Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was the Speaker at the 12^th Annual Homeland Defense and Security Education Summit (University Agency Partnership Program); organized by the Center for Homeland Defense and Security, Naval Postgraduate School (Monterey, California; November 1, 2019).

31 October 2019: Louise Shelley (with Leah F. Mayer) presented a plenary address on “Human Trafficking Network Investigations: The Role of Open Source Intelligence and Large-Scale Data Analytics in Investigating Organized Crime” at the International Criminology Conference, Historic Quaker Meetinghouse.

31 October 2019: Mahmut Cengiz presented “Why Terrorist Groups Pledge Allegiance to Al-Qaida or ISIS,” at the International Criminology Conference, Historic Quaker Meetinghouse

29 October 2019: Dr. Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera participated in a guest lecture hosted by Cornell’s Political Union, Cornell University (Ithaca, NY)

27 October 2019: Traccc’s Al Fuertes was interviewed by CGTN China Global TV Network concerning the 39 bodies found in an Essex truck container.

25-26 October 2019: Dr. Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was a speaker at the symposium “Chasing Slavery: The Persistence of Forced Labor in the Southwest,” hosted by the Center for the Study of the Southwest Texas State University (San Marcos, Texas)

24 October 2019: Dr. Shelley appeared on EuroNews discussing the deaths of the Chinese smuggled into the UK.

23 October 2019: Louise Shelley is quoted by the New York Post discussing sex tourism in D.C. in an article entitled “D.C.’s Gift to Bad Guys”.

20-22 October 2019: Dr. Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was a panel presenter at ‘The Mexico Business Summit’s 17th edition’ (Cancún, Quintana Roo; October 20-22, 2019).

18 October 2019: Dr. Shelley co-authored this op-ed focused on the consequences of legalizing prostitution in the District of Columbia. The op-ed was published by the Washington Examiner and is entitled, “What Would Really Happen if DC Legalized Prostitution.”

17 October 2019: Dr. Shelley tesified before the D.C. City Council. View her testimony here.

10 October 2019: TraCCC and Dr. Shelley are mentioned in an articled concerning the Blavatnik donatio, entitled, “Money Talks: Len Blavatnik and the Council on Foreign Relations”.

8 October 2019: TraCCC’s Kasey Kinnard served as a moderator, and Camilo Pardo participated on a panel on wildlife and natural resource corruption at the World Research Institute.

7 October 2019: Dr. Shelley is quoted in an article entitled “Council on Foreign Relations faces Backlash over $12M Len Blavatnik Donation.”

5 October 2019: TraCCC’s Becca Cooper is featured in an article by the Schar School entitled “Working on Improving the Lives of Women, the Middle East, and the World.”

1 October 2019: Dr. Shelley served on the advisory board and is cited in a report entited “The Security Implications of Human Trafficking” for the Council on Foreign Relations.”

29 September 2019: Dr. Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera is featured in an article entitled “Gangs profit from Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy”.

25 September 2019: Dr. Shelley was the keynote speaker for the third annual TRAC forum from September 24 to 27, 2019 at PUC Minas Praca da Liberdade in Bel Horizonte, Brazil. She is pictured with Professor Rashmi Singh of PUC Minas.

25 September 2019: Senator Cassidy’s speech and our Trade-Based Money Laundering Conference are referenced in an article entitled “Senate Earmarks $2 Million to Combat Trade-Based Money Laundering”

3 September 2019: Louise Shelley submitted a statement on “Human Trafficking and the International Financial System” for field hearing before the National Security and International Trade and Finance Subcommittee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, entitles “Human Trafficking and its Intersection with the Financial System, Lincoln, Nebraska.

19 August 2019: Dr. Louise Shelley was a keynote speaker at an event on natural resource corruption as part of the Bergen Exchange.

23 July 2019: Dr. Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was the presenter at the workshop on “Reporting on Human Trafficking and Slavery for Mexican Journalists,” organized by Thomson Reuters Foundation.

22 July 2019: Traccc is excited to announce the launch of our new Anti-Illicit Trade Institute. The institute aims to become a global hub for research and training to fight multi-trillion dollar illegal economy.

15 July 2019: Dr. Mahmut Cengiz’s article “Who was Behind the July 15, 2016 Military Uprising in Turkey” was recently published in the Small Wars Journal.

10 July 2019: Dr. Shelley spoke in the CFR Roundtable Series on Human Trafficking and National Security, “Women’s Roles in Peace and Security”

10 July 2019: Dr. Shelley is quoted in an article entitled “Dawood Ibrahim’s empire now a terror network: Everything you need to know about the notorious D-Company” on Timesnownews.com.

8 June 2019: Dr. Shelley was a keynote speaker at the conference of Academia against Corruption in the Americas at Tecnológico de Monterrey Escuela de Ciencias Sociales y Gobierno, June 7-8, She spoke on “Dark Commerce and Enlightening Students about Corruption.”

30 May 2019: TraCCC’s recent graduate, Kate Kerr, presented her research findings about the health threats of transnational crime and provided recommendations for the national health security environment at the International Conference on Human Trafficking Researchat Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska

29 and 30 May 2019: Dr. Shelley spoke on the opening and closing panels on the future directions of human trafficking research at the International Conference on Human Trafficking Research at Creighton University, in Omaha, Nebraska. She also organized and moderated a session at the same conference on data analytics and its application to human trafficking.

24 May 2019: TraCCC Fellow David Luna participated in a panel for the Helsinki Commission and House Financial Services Committee Joint Briefing on Trade Based Money Laundering.

23 May 2019: Dr. Louise Shelley spoke at the prestigious Fuller Seminar Series at the WWF on her latest book, Dark Commerce. She discussed illicit trade and environmental issues.

21 May 2019: Dr.Louise Shelley discussed her research at the Government Accountability Office.

8 May 2019: Dr. Louise Shelley served as the keynote speaker for a lecture and panel discussion entitled “Countering Dark Commerce: Security Implications of Illicit Internet Trade” at the German Council on Foreign Relations.

6 May 2019: Senior Fellow David Luna published a study on anonymity in business ownership, cited by FACT Coalition in an article entitled, “New Study: Anonymous Companies Fuel Illicit Trade in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods”

1 May 2019: Dr. Shelley discussed her new book, Dark Commerce, at the Harvard Club of New York.

26 April 2019: Dr. Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was quoted by AP News in an article entitled, “Border Patrol Expands Fingerprinting of Migrant Children”

15 April 2019: Dr. Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera discussed current immigration and border issues in an article entitled, “Everyone Agrees the US Needs to Fix the Border. But How?”

8 April 2019: TraCCC’s Layla Hashemi was featured in an article by the Schar School entitled, “Hashemi: From Public Policy PhD Student to NATO Trafficking Panelist”

7 April 2019: Dr. Ararat Osipian recently published an article discussing academic plagiarism entitled “Putin’s plagiarism, fake Ukrainian degrees and other tales of world leaders accused of academic fraud”

4 April 2019: Dr. Louise Shelley discussed illicit trade and her new book, Dark Commerce, in a podcast with “The Writer’s Voice”

2 April 2019: Dr. Shelley participated in a seminar for the Atlantic Council focusing on “Dealing with the Offshore Economy.”

30 March 2019: Dr. Shelley discusses casino closures, violence, and money laundering in Kosovo and Albania in an article entitled “Kosovo Casino Murder-Robberies Prompt Decade-Long Gambling Ban in Balkan Country

30 March 2019: Dr. Shelley gave a presentation entitled, “The Dark Side of the Textile Trade,” at the Textile Museum, George Washington University

29 March 2019: Dr. Shelley discussed her new book, Dark Commerce, Cosmos Club, Washington, D.C.

29 March 2019: Endangered scholar, Dr. Ararat Osipian, is featured in the Washingtonian in an article entitled “The Professor Who Escaped War With a Scholarship”

29 March 2019: Dr. Shelley’s new book, Dark Commerce, is mentioned in an article entitled “Dealing with anonymity in business incorporation” discussing anonymous shell companies for money laundering.

25 March 2019: Dr. Shelley discusses money laundering and her work with the OCCRP in an article on The Shift News entitled “How Criminals Hide Their Stolen Millions”

25 March 2019: Dr. Louise Shelley discusses wildlife trafficking and its link to national security in an article for the Wilson Center entitled “Stopping Wildlife Trafficking Could Help Strengthen U.S. National Security”

25 March 2019: Dr. Louise Shelley, along with key TraCCC personnel Naoru Koizumi (event organizer), Alonso Aguirre, Maurice Kugler and Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera spoke at the NSF – GMU Conference focusing on Disrupting Operations of Illicit Supply Networks.

22 March 2019: Dr. Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was one of the speakers for an event with the Center for Security Policy Studies on the future of U.S. – Mexico Relations.

21 March 2019: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera discusses current migration flows on the southern border in an article on NPR entitled “With Thousands of Migrants Crossing the Border Daily, We Asked ‘Why Now?'”.18 March 2019: Louise Shelley was the opening keynote speaker at the Task Force on
Countering Illicit Trade, OECD, 18-19 March, 2019, Paris. She discussed major trends in illicit trade and what to do about them using her work from Dark Commerce: How a New Illicit Trade is Threatening our Future.

17 March 2019: David Luna, Senior Fellow at TraCCC, co-authored an article on Nationalinterest.org entitled, “How to Save America from the Fentanyl Flow”

14 March 2019: House passes bill presented by the House Financial Services Committee entitled- H.Res.206 , citing TraCCC research on money laundering in real estate, acknowledging that the lack of sunlight and transparency in financial transactions poses a threat to our national security and our economy’s security and supporting efforts to close related loopholes

11 March 2019: Dr. Shelley’s most recent publication, “When We Talk About Human Trafficking, We Also Need To Talk About Tech. Heres Why” appears on Brink News and discusses the emergence and evolution of technology in human trafficking.

March 8 2019: Dr. Shelley appears on American Trends, which is a series of podcasts focusing on the social and political trends shaping our future. Louise Shelley is interviewed on Dark Commerce at EP 217

6 March 2019: Dr. Louise Shelley and TraCCC’s Layla Hashemi spoke about the links between terrorism, corruption, and transnational crime at NATO’s 2019 Building Integrity conference. The conference was focused on building strong and resilient institutions to strengthen partnerships

4 March 2019: Dr. Shelley was interviewed by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project for the video accompanying Troika Laundromat Report, a multinational investigation on massive money laundering. She is also quoted in the article entitled “Vast Offshore Network Moved Billions With Help From Major Russian Bank”

28 February 2019: Dr. Shelley spoke at the House of Representatives briefing on the Natural Security Campaign on “Natural Security: The Role of Global Conservation in Protecting U.S. Interests”

26 February 2019: Dr. Shelley spoke at Yale on the Russian transition at a session on “Justice, Taxes and Global Financial Integrity”

26 February 2019: AML RightSource published a review of Dr. Shelley’s new book, Dark Commerce, entitled “What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits”

24 February 2019: Dr. Shelley appeared on CBC News discussing Chinese fentanyl in Canada in a segment entitled “How massive amounts of fentanyl get to Canada from China”

21 February 2019: Dr. Shelley’s new book, Dark Commerce, was discussed by Vadim Nikitin in the London Review of Books.

17 February 2019: Dr. Shelley was interviewed by Jim Campbell about her new book, Dark Commerce, and illicit trade on BizTalk Radio

16 February 2019: Dr. Shelley’s new book, Dark Commerce, was recently featured as food for thought in the 2019 Munich Security Report.

16 February 2019: Dr. Shelley spoke about the links between terrorism, transnational crime, and corruption on AML Conversations in a podcast entitled “The challenge of addressing the illicit economy in 2019 and beyond”

14 February 2019: Dr. Shelley’s work on illicit trade and her new book, Dark Commerce, were discussed in an article on Law.com entitled “Author to General Counsel: You Can Do Much More to Find and Stop Illicit Trade”

13 February 2019: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was interviewed by WNYC in a segment entitled “The Next Chapter for the Mexican Drug War”

11 February 2019: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera served as the moderator for a panel focusing on fentanyl trade in Mexico in the Mexican Security Review by the Wilson Center

6 February 2019: Dr. Shelley was interviewed by Charles Davidson in The American Interest article entitled “Shining a Light on ‘Dark Commerce.'”

2 February 2019: Dr. Shelley appeared on a panel with Rice University’s Baker Institute in an event entitled “A Worthy Mission: Controlling Corruption in Latin America”

2 February 2019: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera discussed conflict in Venezuela in an interview entitled “Inside the Turmoil in Venezuela” with RT.News.

1 February 2019: Dr. Louise Shelley discussed corruption in Latin America in an interview by the Baker Institute entitled, “A Worthy Mission: Controlling Corruption in Latin America”

31 January 2019: Dr. Shelley spoke on Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy panel entitled “Corruption Control in Latin America.”

28 January 2019: Dr. Shelley’s new book, Dark Commerce, was discussed in a Globalist article titled, “US: How to Combat Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing?”

22 January 2019: Dr. Louise Shelley was quoted in a Quartz article entitled “Major GOP donor Len Blavatnik had business ties to a Russian official.”

16 January 2019: Dr. Louise Shelley was quoted in a New York Post article entitled “Proposed bill targets money-laundered, terror-funded skyscrapers, LLCs.”

16 January 2019: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was quoted in a New York Times article entitled “A $100 Million Bribe to the President? Mexicans Shrug.”

16 January 2019: Dr. Shelley explained how globalization, communications, and new technology have fueled the growth of dangerous forms of illegal trade at the Chicago Humanities Festival.

16 January 2019: Dr. Shelley was interviewed on The Steve Gruber Show in a segment entitled “Impact Illegal Trade of Natural Resources Has on National Security.”

10 January 2019: Dr. Shelley was interviewed by Darryl Berger on WNPV-AM segment entitled “Illicit Trade of Natural Resources.” She also discussed similar topics while being interviewed on KOGO-AM and WTKI-AM.

8 January 2019: TraCCC’s Abuse and Exploitation of Red Notices conference was mentioned in a Lawfare article and podcast entitled “The Veselnitskaya Obstruction Indictment: A Collusion Tale.”

8 January 2019: Dr. Louise Shelley was quoted in a Foreign Policy article entitled “New Charges Against Russian Lawyer Who Met Trump Jr. Reveal Her Ties to Kremlin.”

5 January 2019: Dr. Shelley appeared on C-Span discussing Dark Commerce and the growth in illegal trade.

2 January 2019: Dr. Louise Shelley was quoted on Arab News and Albawaba on how emerging technologies and the dark web are fueling illicit trade in the Middle East.

29 December 2018: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera and Alan Bersin produced an op-ed in The Hill entitled “Migrant activists and human smugglers collaborated at the Southern border: Innocents lost.”

21 December 2018: Dr. Louise Shelley discussed Bill Browder and the Global Magnitsky Act on CNN’s Situation Room.

20 December 2018: Dr. Shelley discussed the content of Dark Commerce on PRI’s The World (at 17 minutes into the program).

13 December 2018: Dr. Louise Shelley spoke at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) on how illicit economies threaten our future.

13 December 2018: Dr. Louise Shelley appeared on a BBC Newsnight program entitled “Should Trump fear his old watchdog Michael Cohen,” where she discussed the connections between Donald Trump and various Russian figures.

12 December 2018: Dr. Louise Shelley was featured in an event by the Henry Jackson Society in the United Kingdom where she discussed her new book, Dark Commerce.

11 December 2018: Dr. Louise Shelley discussed the subject matter of Dark Commerce on The Economist’s Money Talks podcast (at 8 minutes into the program).

11 December 2018: Louise Shelley at Chatham House for a discussion on Dark Commerce Technology’s Contribution to the Illegal Economy.

7 December 2018: The Washington Post featured an article entitled “Is MS-13 as dangerous as Trump suggests?” that was written by Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera and Camilo Pardo along with Mariely Lopez-Santana.

30 November 2018: ES Global reviewed Dr. Louise Shelley’s new book, Dark Commerce.

28 November 2018: Dr. Shelley’s new book, Dark Commerce, named top 5 science books of the week by nature.com.

22 November 2018: Marketplace featured Dr. Shelley in a program entitled “How the trade routes of the old world have been repurposed in the cyber age.”

21 November 2018: Dr. Shelley was quoted in a CNN article on the election of Kim Jong Yang as the new president of Interpol.

21 November 2018: Dr. Shelley was quoted in a CNN article on the pending election of the new president of Interpol.

21 November 2018: Dr. Louise Shelley discussed the candidacy of Alexander Prokopchuk and the election of the new head of Interpol during a BBC program on the topic.

18 November 2018: The Financial Times quoted Dr. Shelley in an article entitled “Is Interpol being manipulated by authoritarian regimes?”

14 November 2018: Dr. Louise Shelley spoke on Dark Commerce and Illegal Sales of Online Sales of Medicines at the research symposium of ASOP in the National Press Club.

13 November 2018: An interview with Dr. Shelley was published in an article entitled How ‘Dark Commerce’ is Making Us Poorer-and Sicker in The Crime Report.

10 November 2018: Louise Shelley presented her new book, “Dark Commerce,” at the Chicago Humanities Festival.

8 November 2018: TraCCC hosted a Ukrainian group on Strategic Communications Strategies of Government Agencies, a delegation of law enforcement and NGOs working on anticorruption sponsored by the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program.

7 November 2018: Dr. Louise Shelley was quoted by moneylaundering.com in an article entitled “US, Canadian Banks Struggling to Find Funds Behind Fentanyl Crisis: Sources.”

4 November 2018: Dark Commerce was listed in the “What we are Reading Today” section of Arab News.

3 November 2018: Dr. Shelley discussed her recent book, Dark Commerce, in the Dutch financial newspaper – Het Financieele Dagblad.

31 October 2018: Louise Shelley was a keynote speaker at the Crime Stoppers International Annual Conference in The Hague, Netherlands on illicit trade and also moderated a panel on “Illicit Trade, Human Trafficking, Environmental Crime.”

24 October 2018: Dr. Shelley served as a discussant in a forum entitled “Migration, Homeland Security, and Gangs” that was hosted at George Mason University’s Fairfax campus.

18 October 2018: Louise Shelley is featured in the Woodrow Willson School of Politics and International Affairs podcast Politics and Polls, Episode #111 How Technology Changed Illicit Trade

16 October 2018: Dr. Shelley served on a World Wildlife Federation panel at the annual meeting of the WWF Board and National Council at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium entitled “Natural Security: Investing in Nature for a Safer World.”

15-18 October 2018: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera presented her paper entitled “Los Mexicanos Ilegales en Los Estados Unidos: A Human Problem” at the 16^th Border Regions in Transition (BRIT) Conference

13 October 2018: Louise Shelley spoke on a human trafficking panel hosted by American Women for International Understanding (AWIU) in Washington D.C.

12 October 2018: An extract from Dr. Louise Shelley’s new book “Dark Commerce: How a New Illicit Economy is Threatening Our Future” is now available on SoundCloud.

11 October 2018: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera appeared on Fox News to share her research on the effect of U.S. immigration policies.

02 October 2018: Dr. Shelley article “Illegal trade is a growing threat to the community of nations, the world’s population and earth’s environment. Recognizing that criminals don’t stovepipe is the key to an effective response.” was published by the American Foreign Service Association.

2 October 2018: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera shared a presentation entitled “New Illicit Networks along the Migration Routes: Human Smugglers, Transnational Organized Crime, and Corruption” at the Conference “Amérique Centrale: La Crise Invisible” organized by the Centre d’Etudes et de Recherches Internationales de l’Université de Montréal (CÉRIUM, The Montreal Centre for International Studies)

2 October 2018: Dr Shelley is quoted in Russia Made The King Of Chess. The U.S. Dethroned Him. by FiveThrityEight.

October 2018: Dr. Shelley writes Illicit Trade and Our Global Response for the Foreign Service Journal.

29 September 2018: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera shared a paper entitled “The U.S.-Mexico Border in the Trump Era: Immigration, Security and Political Rhetoric” at the Conference 2018 ABS Japan Chapter Workshop “Border Studies Today: Seen from North America, Europe and Asia.”

28 September 2018: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera presented her paper entitled “Borders in the Americas in the Era of Trump: Walls and Closed Borders” at the 2018 World Social Science Forum in Fukuoka, Japan.

6-7 September 2018: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was a featured speaker in the panel “Public Policies for Addiction Prevention and Citizen Security” during the National Meeting of the CONACYT’s Thematic Network on Addiction Prevention and Citizen Security in Monterrey, Mexico.

2 September 2018: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera presented a paper that she co-authored with Mariely López-Santana entitled “The State vs. the Maras: An Assessment of MS-13 in the American Context” at the 114^th Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association (APSA) in Boston, MA.

1 September 2018: TraCCC publishes report from its Money Laundering into Real Estate conference.

18 August 2018: Dr. Louise Shelley discussed the dynamics of the illicit textile market at an event entitled “The Dark Side of the Textile Trade: From the Silk Road to Today.”

31 July 2018: Dr. Louise Shelley is scheduled to serve as a panelist at an Atlantic Council event entitled “Putin’s Rule: Siloviki and Kleptocrats.”

25 July 2018: Dr. Louise Shelley served as a featured speaker on a national security briefing entitled “Natural Security: How Investing in Global Conservation Protects U.S. Interests.”

13 July 2018: Dr. Louise Shelley is quoted in an article by moneylaundering.com entitled, “Payment Processors Fly Under Radar of Human Trafficking Investigators”

5 July 2018: The Los Angeles Sentinel noted Dr. Shelley for her participation as a panelist at the 2018 Career Opportunities in International Relations event.

3 July 2018: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera’s article “Mexico’s New President AMLO and Donald Trump Have Promised Mutual ‘Respect.’ How Long Can That Last?” was published in Time Magazine.

30 June 2018: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was quoted in the New York Times, “What it Costs to be Smuggled Across the U.S. Border.”

28 June 2018: Dr. Shelley spoke at the AWIU-COIR 2018 IMPACT Awards: Young Women Rising event.

22 June 2018: Sharon Melzer’s article, “Illicit Trade: The World Wide Multi-Billion Funding Stream,” was published in Freedom from Fear, a UNICRI publication.

31 May 2018: Yulia Krylova’s book “Corruption and the Russian Economy: How Administrative Corruption Undermines Entrepreneurship and Economic Opportunities” was published by Routledge in their Transnational Crime and Corruption series

31 May 2018: Louise Shelley spoke at the Center of Excellence summit on the “Cross-Border Movement of People, Goods, Data and Capital” panel.

30 May 2018: Dr. Shelley is quoted on her expertise of how petty criminal activities relates to terrorism in an article by Quartz titled “Why Europeans should be quick to investigate petty criminals for Islamic terrorism.”

26 April 2018: Louise Shelley was featured as a 2015 Carnegie fellow in “Engaging Imaginations, Making History” by the Carnegie Reporter.

26 April 2018: Louise Shelley was a commentator at “Fighting Impunity in the land of Corruption: How a UN Initiative Contributes to Good Governance in Guatemala,” an event co-sponsored with the School of Foreign Service, Center for Latin American Studies at Georgetown University.

26 April 2018: Dr. Shelley is quoted by Reuters in “Under U.S. gaze, Latvia votes to dismantle banking bridge to Russia.”

21 April 2018: “Pakistan-based crime-terror group, D-company, whose origins lie in India, expanded Karachi’s historic role as a drug transhipment point, and built a powerful transnational crime-terror organisation, in part from drug proceeds,” Dr Louise Shelley tells lawmakers.

10 April 2018: The TraCCC Center is featured in the Alexandria Gazette regarding our Human Trafficking Hackathon, in the article titled “Using Computers in Arlington to Help Stop Human Trafficking.”

10 April 2018: Dr. Shelley is featured in an article from immigracion.com, “Human trafficking networks to the United States they have diversified according to experts.”

10 April 2018: Professor Louise Shelley and columnist Edward Lucas discuss the issue of money laundering in London on BBC Newsnight.

6 April 2018: In the article titled “United Nations Terror List Has 139 Pakistan Entries,” from the Newburgh Gazette, Dr. Shelley is quoted on her knowledge of D-company’s crime diversification.

5 April 2018: Professor Louise Shelley participated in the panel Beyond ‘Coyotes’: Current Trends in the Facilitation of Irregular Migration in Latin America at the Wilson Center.

3 April 2018: In the CNBC article “Money Laundering and Corruption Scandals Haunt Latvia as its President Meets Trump at the White House,” Dr. Louise Shelley is quoted, referencing the subject of money laundering.

29 March 2018: Dr. Shelley spoke at the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland Global Forum on “Illicit Global Commerce as a Security Challenge.”

28 March 2018: Dr. Shelley testified at the “The Opioid Crisis and the Dark Web: How Transnational Criminals Devastate U.S. Communities” which was hosted by the Commission on Security & Cooperation in Europe: U.S. Helsinki Commission.

27 March 2018: Dr. Shelley lectured on Following the Money: To Combat Human Trafficking at the Financial Crimes seminar of the FFIEC (Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council).

23 March 2018: In a viral article titled “Dawood’s D-company Traffics Weapons, Provides Financial Services, US lawmakers told,” Dr. Shelley is interviewed on her perspective and knowledge of D-Company, a Pakistani based criminal network as it diversifies its operations.

20 March 2018: Dr. Louise Shelley testifies for the Terrorism and Illicit Finance Subcommittee at the hearing titled “Exploring the Financial Nexus of Terrorism, Drug Trafficking, and Organized Crime.” Testifying alongside Dr. Shelley were Celina Realuyo, Derek Maltz, and Joseph Humire.

19 March 2018: Dr. Shelley is mentioned in an article detailing the upcoming congressional testimony hosted by the Terrorism and Illicit Finance Subcommittee.

19 March 2018: Dr. Shelley is interviewed for the BBC Newsnight broadcast “Russian Oligarch Oleg Deripaska and His Links to British Politicians.”

6 March 2018: In the article titled “The AC Digs Into: Countering Looting Of Antiquities From Syria And Iraq Project,” the Antiquities Coalition interviewed Dr. Louise Shelley on the grant recently issued to TraCCC by the State Department. The purpose of the grant is to investigate the illicit trade of antiquities and to offer solutions to law enforcement.

28 February 2018: Dr. Shelley is interviewed by the European Observatory on Illicit Trade on her expertise on the connections between illicit trade and terrorist groups.

22 February 2018: Dr. Shelley is quoted in the article titled “The Magnitsky Affair” from the New York Review of Books, detailing a money-laundering suit involving a Cyprus-based real estate corporation.

17 February 2018: Dr. Shelley spoke with co-panelist Sir King, the leading security officer of the European Union, at the Munich Security Conference on New Strategies to Counter Trafficking, which was hosted by PMI Impact and the Royal United Services Institute.

15 February 2018: In association with Transparency Germany, Dr. Shelley wrote and presented a discussion paper for the Munich Security Conference focusing on corruption titled “Terrorism and International Crime- Corruption as the Enabler.”

8 February 2018: Dr. Shelley attended the NATO supreme allied commander transformation in Norfolk for a day on building integrity.

31 January 2018: The Hill reported on testimony before the House Financial Services Committee that included and quoted Dr. Shelley, in the story “Lawmakers worry digital currency helping human traffickers avoid detection“

30 January 2018: Dr. Shelley testifies before the House Financial Services Committee for hearing entitled “Following the Money: How Human Traffickers Exploit U.S. Financial Markets“

19 January 2018: In the article Spain’s Robert Mueller takes on the Russian mob released by Yahoo News, Dr. Shelley is quoted on the subject of money laundering by purchase of real estate.

18 January 2018: Dr. Louise Shelley addressed participants of the Building Integrity in Education and Training Working Group Meeting at the NATO Headquarters on the subject of counter terrorism.

17 January 2018: Dr. Shelley was featured in the podcast Bribe, Swindle or Steal for TRACE International.

16 January 2018: In an article investigating the relationship between the United States and Kazakhstan, “Kazakhstan is a ‘kleptocracy’ ruled by an autocrat. It’s also an increasingly important strategic ally,” Dr. Shelley is quoted on the subject of kleptocracy and corruption, specifically in relation to Kazakhstan.

21 December 2017: In the article “Milo Djukanovic: Montenegro’s Teflon Don” published by the European Observatory of Crimes and Security, Dr. Louise Shelley is quoted on the subject of drug trafficking the context of ancient Ottoman trade routes.

17 December 2017: Dr. Shelley is featured in the Building Integrity December Newsletter, citing her knowledge of the growth of illicit trade and corruption.

8 December 2017: Dr. Louise Shelley is quoted throughout an article in Al Arabiya English on smuggling routes, entitled, “Billion-euro Ottoman smuggling route to Europe still an operating business“.

8 December 2017: Dr. Shelley has new piece in Nato Review Magazine, New security challenge: The growth of illicit trade and corruption.

2 December 2017: In “Dacha in reserve and real estate in Miami. How retired police General obtained ownership of paradise,” an article from Crime Russia, Dr. Louise Shelley gives extensive testimony on corrupt real estate purchases.

December 2017: Louise Shelley is pictured and mentioned in the 2016-2017 OSCE report The “OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings“, see especially page 54.

30 November 2017: Louise Shelley was a keynote speaker at the 8th Assisses National de la Recherche Strategique (the National Meeting on Strategic Research), CSFRS , Military College, Paris. Her talk was entitled, Illicit Trade as Security Challenge.

15 November 2017: Dr. Shelley spoke at joint event between TraCCC and the Hudson Institute, Kleptocratic Regimes and National Security: A Pervasive Threat and How It Can be Neutralized. For the full report, click here.

26 October 2017: Quotes by Dr. Shelley in McClatchy are picked up by Daily Kos for their story, Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen Sold Buildings to Mystery Buyers for Millions in Cash.

25 October 2017: Dr. Shelley is quoted on NPR’s Marketplace story, Mnuchin Heads to Middle East Focused on Disrupting Terrorist Financing.

25 October 2017: Louise Shelley is quoted in McClactchy story, Trump Associate Cohen Sold Four NY Buildings for Cash to Mysterious Buyers, on money laundering into real estate.

24 October 2017: The website Crime Russia picked up Dr. Shelley’s quote from the Oct. 20 Miami Herald for its own story, Patriots of Russia choose Miami, laundering of Russian money into U.S. real estate.

20 October 2017: Dr. Shelley is quoted by the Miami Herald in the story, This Russian general fought the mob. Why does he own $38 million of Florida real estate?

18 October 2017: TraCCC sponsored a full-day conference entitled, “The Illicit Business behind the Opioid Epidemic: What Can We Do About It?“

16 October 2017: Louise Shelley is quoted by the Moscow Times in the article, Danske Bank Under Investigation for Russian Fraud on the Magnitsky case.

28 September 2017: Dr. Shelley spoke on Al Arabiya television concerning the relationship of illicit trade and terrorist financing27 September 2017: Dr. Shelley spoke at the PMI Impact/Financial Times conference Combating Illicit Trade
Progress, Challenges and Collaborative Solutions in London. She spoke on the panel, Interlinks of Illicit Trade with Other Crimes”

26 September 2017: Dr. Shelley is quoted in ABC News story, “Special counsel probing flow of Russian-American money to Trump political funds“

16 September 2017: Dr. Shelley’s recent Congressional Testimony is referenced in the article How Black-Market Tobacco Funds the World’s Bad Actors for Defense One.

11 September 2017: Dr. Shelley spoke at NATO’s Building Integrity Conference “Projecting Stability Through Good Governance and Defence Institution Building”. She spoke on her book, “Dirty Entanglements – Corruption, Crime and Terrorism”.

6 September 2017: Dr. Louise Shelley was interviewed for NPR’s All Things Considered, in its piece “New Details Emerge About Russians Who Met With Donald Trump Jr.“

5 September 2017: Dr. Louise Shelley spoke at King’s College London’s conference “Understanding European Jihadists: Criminals, extremists or both?“

4 September 2017: Dr. Mahmut Cengiz writes Entrenched Political Corruption Squelches New Crime-Fighting Model Designed to Combat Human Trafficking Operations in Turkey for the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime.

2 August 2017: Dr. Mahmut Cengiz wrote The Lessons from Pakistani and Turkish Presidential-level Corruption Probes for Vocal Europe.

21 July 2017: Dr. Shelley’s testimony before the Helsinki Commission is heavily quoted in “Black Market Cigarettes a ‘Significant Threat’ Funding Terrorism and Other Criminal Enterprises.”

19 July 2017: Dr. Shelley testified before the U.S. Helsinki Commission hearing entitled, A Hazy Crisis: Illicit Cigarette Smuggling In The OSCE Region.

12 July 2017: Dr. Shelley is quoted in Asia Sentinel story Glamorous Russian Lawyer Tied to Deeper Scandals on the ties between Natalia Veselnitskaya, Donald Trump Jr., and a settled US Treasury case.

10 July 2017: Dr. Mahmut Cengiz writes “Why Turkey Failed To Rremove The Shadows On The Coup” for Vocal Europe, on the 1 year anniversary of the attempted coup in that country.

6 July 2017: Dr. Mahmut Cengiz writes “How Organized Crime and Terror are linked to Oil Smuggling along Turkey’s Borders” for the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime.

27-29 June 2017: Dr. Louise Shelley was a keynote speaker on the session “Transnational Threats-Current and Future Trends” at the 2017 Annual Security Review Conference of the OSCE in Vienna, entitled Strengthening Security Through Dialogue.

30 May 2017: Dr. Shelley spoke to alumni at GMU Schar School of Policy and Government on Tuesday about her forthcoming book, the scaling of illicit trade, and its role in undermining global sustainability.

26 May 2017: Louise Shelley is quoted in McClatchy article, Here’s why the feds are looking at Jared Kushner.

11 May 2017: Dr. Louise Shelley is quoted in an article by India’s Business Standard entitled, Hope on GST to curb cigarette smuggling: Tobacco Institute of India

2 May 2017: Dr. Mahmut Cengiz has authored a new blog for the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime entitled, “How the crackdown in Turkey created a permissive environment for drug trafficking“

April 2017: TraCCC Visiting Scholar, Dr. Mahmut Cengiz has authored a report Amped in Ankara: Drug trade and drug policy in Turkey from the 1950s through today, for Brookings.

26 April 2017: Louise Shelley addressed the Washington, D.C. Rotary Club on “Human Trafficking: A Comparison of Italy and the U.S.”

17 April 2017: Louise Shelley spoke at “Investigative Reporting and Scrutiny over Trump-Russia Connections,” at the Columbia University School of Journalism

6-7 April 2017: Dr. Shelley spoke on Security vs. Illegal Networks and Trafficking at the Conference on Balkan Networks and Stability, Nato Defense College Foundation, Rome, Italy.

April 5 2017: TraCCC Visiting Scholar, Dr. Mahmut Cengiz has authored the blog, “Turkey has a major drug problem-here’s how to get a handle on it,” for the Brookings, Order from Chaos blog.

29 March 2017: McClatchy DC Bureau article, “Paul Manafort’s finances, alliance with Trump draw Treasury, Justice, FBI eyes,” quotes TraCCC director, Dr. Louise Shelley.

29 March 2017: McClatchy article quoting Louise Shelley is picked up by the Miami Herald and the Rock Hill Herald.

28 March 2017: Dr. Louise Shelley has authored a new article for ACAMS (Association of Certified Anti Money-laundering Specialists), on the site Moneylaundering.com.

24 March 2017: TraCCC hosted a panel on Transnational Crime and Terrorism, including Dr. Louise Shelley, Dr. Desmond Arias, Dr. Mahmut Cengiz, and Dr. Sharon Melzer, at DHS 10th Anniversary Conference, held at George Mason University.

21 March 2017: Dr. Shelley has authored “Dirty Entanglements on the New Silk Road: Drugs, Corruptions, and Crime in Central Asia” for the Reconnecting Asia section of the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

16 March 2017: Harvard Political Review quotes Louise Shelley in its analysis, “Trafficking in Persons Report: 15 Years Later“

1-3 March 2017: Dr. Louise Shelley presented at high level talks on illicit trade at the Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights in Sicily, Italy. Her talk was entitled Links Among different Forms of Illicit Trade

28 February 2017: Louise Shelley was the keynote speaker at the 2nd annual Human Trafficking, University of Carolina-Pembroke

22 February 2017: McClatchy article “Russia’s pension money for its veterans escapes scrutiny as it flows into U.S.” is picked up by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

21 February 2017: Louise Shelley is quoted in McClatchy article, “Russia’s pension money for its veterans escapes scrutiny as it flows into US“

15 February 2017: Louise Shelley is cited by Miami Herald in “Russian diplomat under U.S. scrutiny in election meddling speaks“.

14 February 2017: McClatchy DC Bureau quoted Dr. Shelley in, “Russian diplomat under U.S. scrutiny in election meddling speaks,”.

14 February 2017: The Ledger-Enquirer ran the story “Russian diplomat under U.S. scrutiny in election meddling speaks,” that originated at McClatchy.

2 February 2017: TraCCC visiting scholar, Mahmut Cengiz co-authors op-ed “Turkey’s Self-Destruction of Its Own Security” in Vocal Europe.

1 February 2017: Dr. Shelley is mentioned in publicity of the upcoming Human trafficking conference scheduled at UNCP in the Richmond County Daily Journal.

8 December 2016: TraCCC fellow Sharon Melzer is quoted in Virginia Public Radio story, Virginia to Crack Down on Black Market Cigarette Trade

1-4 December 2016: Dr. Shelley spoke on 2 panels during the 17th annual International Anti-Corruption Conference of Transparency International in Panama City, Panama. Dec. 2 talk was entitled, “Greasing the Wheels: Understanding How Human Traffickers Exploit Corruption Networks: And What we Can Do about it,” and Dec, 3 was entitled, “Corruption, Security and Organized Crime,”

29 November 2016: Dr. Louise Shelley was interviewed on broadcast of Skynews regarding that days attacks at Ohio State University and whether the act may represent online terror recruitment.

16 November 2016: The Irish Times story Corporate raiding devastating Russian economy, seminar told covered Dr. Louise Shelley’s talk at Trinity College on corporate raiding in Russia.

12 November 2016: Dr. Shelley is interviewed by Italian newspaper Il Mattino. The article, by Davide Cerbone, is “Terrorismo, micidiale l’isolamento ma il Congresso USA lo impendira,”

11 November 2016: Louise Shelley spoke at the launch of the 4th volume of the Atlas of the Mafia in Caserta, Italy. You can read about it in the story Atlante delle Mafie: presentazione alla Biblioteca Diocesana di Caserta

9-10 November 2016: Dr. Shelley spoke at Dialoghi sulle Mafie, an annual conference in Naples on the mafia and new criminal trends.

8 November 2016: Italian site Repubblica covers the annual conference on the Mafia in its story Dialoghi sulle Mafie a Napoli: proiezione di “Camorriste” e presentazione dell’Atlante delle Mafie where Dr. Shelley’s talk at the conference is mentioned.

November 2016: Dr. Shelley authors a new book chapter “Crescenti legami tra criminali e terroristi:l’esperienza europea,” in Atlante delle mafie Storia, economia, società, cultura vol. 4, eds. Enzo Ciconte, Francesco Forgione and Isaia Sales, Soveria Mannelli: Rubbetino, 2016, 83-95.

31 October 2016: French journal SÉCURITÉ GLOBALE published text of Louise Shelley’s May 12 report to Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, “Following the Money: Examining Current Terrorist Financing Trends and the Threat to the Homeland”

25 October 2016: Dr. Shelley is quoted in Die Welt story Milliarden mit Zigaretten und Pillen on organized crime and terror funding through cigarettes.

16 October 2016: TraCCC support Ph.D. graduate Dr. Nazia Hussein and TraCCC affiliated faculty Dr. Desmond Arias co-authored a chapter in the new book The Handbook of Criminology and Terrorism entitled “Organized Crime and Terrorism.”

14 October 2016: Dr. Shelley and Judy Deane are mentioned in the story, Tvrdá pravda o tom, jak se podniká v Rusku, about the economic challenges for Russian business, in the Czech publication Kurzy.

6-8 October 2016: Dr. Shelley speaks at the Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Trafficking at College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She gave the keynote address entitled “Human Trafficking: The Historical Roots of Present Trends” and was part of the panel: The Role of Law in Using the Four P’s to Combat Human Trafficking: Prevention, Prosecution, Protection, Partnership

Fall 2016: Louise Shelley is interviewed for International Affairs Forum Fall 2016 edition. Read it on pages 32-36.

Fall 2016: Dr. Shelley writes a review of Gangs of Russia: From the Streets to the Corridors of Power, by Svetlana Stephenson for Slavic Review Volume 75, issue 3, page 804.

22 September 2016: TraCCC training program with Tanzanian wildlife conservation delegation is featured in press release from the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam.

19 September 2016: Louise Shelley is mentioned in story on ISIS finance, Perché gli arabi finanziano gli islamisti? in the Italian edition of International Business Times

16 September 2016: Dr. Shelley is quoted in CNSnews story Harvard Economist: US Should Phase-Out All Currency Larger Than $10 Bills on suggestion that phasing out cash could reduce money laundering.

15 September 2016: Louise Shelley quoted in AskNews story Il contrabbando di sigarette finanzia il terrorismo dell’Isis on the use of cigarettes to fund ISIS.

9 September 2016: Louise Shelley featured in story on the website of ACAMS

Summer 2016: TraCCC supported PhD graduate Dr. Nazia Hussein and TraCCC director Dr. Louise Shelley co-author Karachi: Organized Crime in a Key Megacity for Connections: The Quarterly Journal volume 15, issue 3, pp. 5-15.

30 August 2016: French website Jol Press features Louise Shelley in their story La contrebande financerait le terrorisme en Europe on the use of cigarettes to fund terrorism in Europe.

26 August 2016: Research by TraCCC director Louise Shelley and deputy director Judy Deane mentioned in Financial Times Blog, The hard truth of doing business in Russia: it isn’t all about sanctions

24 August 2016: Louise Shelley is featured on German TV channel ARD’s news magazine story Terror-Geld durch Zigarettenschmuggel und Produktpiraterie on terrorism funding. Watch between min. 6 and 8.

24 August 2016: German ARD story is printed and broadcast by German news site BR24, Wie der illegale Handel den Terror finanziert.

24 August 2016: German site Das Erste ran ARD story and broadcast featuring Dr. Shelley, Terror-Finanzierung: Wie Attentäter mit Wirtschaftskriminalität an Geld kommen

24 August 2016: German site Tagesschau ran ARD story and broadcast featuring Dr. Shelley, Wie illegaler Handel den Terror finanziert

24 August 2016: Austrian site Kurier reports on German ARD story featuring Louise Shelley in Wer Schmuggeltschick raucht, könnte Terroranschläge finanzieren

24 August 2016: German TV news magazine Plusminus shares story on terror funding on Youtube

28 July 2016: BBC Russian interviews Dr. Shelley on corporate raiding in Russia in, Доклад: размах рейдерства в России растет

16 September 2016: Dr. Louise Shelley is quoted extensively in CSN News story, Harvard Economist: US Should Phase-Out All Currency Larger Than $10 Bills on the role of cash in illicit activity.

15 July 2016: Dr. Louise Shelley speaks in London at the House of Lords on ‘The Rise of Reiderstvo: Implications for Russia and the West‘.

23 June 2016: Global Initiative shared video of presentation by Louise Shelley in Capetown.

17 June 2016: French website Economie Martin quotes Louise Shelley in Paquet neutre à 10 euros : une aubaine pour les organisations terroristes?

14 June 2016: Website, The Globalist mentioned Louise Shelley in its story, National Governments: Corrupted Systematically?

9 June 2016: Dr. Shelley is quoted in a Nikkei Asia Review story, Sanctions may squeeze North Korea’s counterfeit cigarette trade, on illicit and counterfeit tobacco trade from North Korea.

6 June 2016: German website Deutschland Radiokultur in its story, Ein Werbespruch gegen den Schwarzmarkt on the role of illicit cigarette sales in Europe and terror financing.

4 June 2016: German news site Deutsche Welle quotes Dr. Shelley regarding self-financing nature of ISIS terrorists in Europe in its article, 390 Euro für einen Terroristen in Geldnot?

30 May 2016: Africa Geographic covers Dr. Shelley’s talk in Capetown in its blog, What cigarettes, kidneys and rhinos have in common

30 May 2016: Dr. Louise Shelley speaks at Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime in Capetown, South Africa on Emerging Trends in the Organized Crime/Crime Terror Nexus.

25 May 2016: Rep. Christopher Smith (NJ) made remarks at the House of Representatives on the recent work on Louise Shelley and Judy Deane on Corporate Raiding in Russia.

24 May 2016: Louise Shelley presents her talk, “Convergence of Illicit Actors and Flows” at the Regional Conference on Wildlife Trafficking, CSIR International Conventional Centre, Pretoria, South Africa.

19 May 2016: The KCET/LinkTV episode of Earth Focus, “Illicit Ivory” that featured TraCCC’s Dr. Louise Shelley and Gretchen Peters Wins 2016 Excellence in New Communications Award for Innovation: Digital & Marketing Experience

16 May 2016: Huffington Post writes about the work of Louise Shelley and Judy Deane on corporate raiding in Russia in the article “Corporate Raiding, Russian Style“

12 May 2016: Dr. Louise Shelley testified before the House Committee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence.

12 May 2016: Website Sputniknews writes about the testimony of Dr. Shelley before a House subcommittee on terror funding. The story is called, Daesh Activities in Europe Funded via Local Petty Crimes

12 May 2016: Sputniknews further writes Terrorists Switch to Illicit Gold Trade From Drugs to Finance Activities about the testimony of Dr. Shelley to Congressional Committee.

9 May 2016: Dr. Louise Shelley and Judy Deane author report Rise of Reiderstvo on corporate raiding in Russia.

April 28-29 2016: Dr. Louise Shelley spoke at the Technology Against Crime International Conference in, Lyon, France on the topic of future trends in transnational crime. She also moderated a session on human trafficking and served on the scientific committee for the conference that was co-sponsored with Interpol and the French Ministry of Interior

21 April 2016: Newly awarded Ph.D., Nazia Hussain was selected by United Nations University-Centre for Policy Research in Tokyo, Japan for a JSPS post-doc fellowships and will be stationed at UNU-CPR for the 2016-18 period. The fellowship is to promote her research on fragile states and organized crime

April 2016: Dr. Louise Shelley is awarded the prestigious Rockefeller Foundation Residence Fellowship in Bellagio, Italy to write on her current book on illicit trade and its impact on sustainability

20 April 2016: Dr. Louise Shelley’s book, Human Traffic and Transnational Crime: Eurasian and American Perspectives is quoted in HuffPost Impact Blog, “Sexual Assault-Tool of Power and Control in Sex Trafficking and Forced Labor“

19 April 2016: Dr. Louise Shelley spoke in Paris at the 2016 OECD Integrity Forum, Fighting the Hidden Tariff: Global Trade without Corruption. She spoke on a panel entitled “Exploiting Tragedy: Corruption and the Refugee Crisis”

12 April 2016: Louise Shelley was the concluding speaker at the 16th Alliance against Trafficking in Persons Conference in Vienna, focused on forced criminality in human trafficking. Her talk was entitled, “Looking Forward: Recommendations for Policy and Research

8 April 2016: Top Greek newspaper, To Vimo, quotes Louise Shelley in story on plans and perceptions in Europe of Terrorism. “Η Ευρώπη ψάχνει απαντήσεις απέναντι” by Irini Psychari

4 April 2016: Dr. Louise Shelley authors report, “Global Terrorism and Organised Crime” in International Reports Of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung

April 2016: TraCCC PhD student Andy Guth co-authors chapter in 2016 OECD report, Illicit Trade: Converging Networks. The chapter begins on page 38 and is entitled, “Trafficking in Persons: Trends and Patterns.”

18 March 2016: Asian Review quotes Dr. Shelley in its analysis of North Korea’s place in the global trade in illicit and counterfeit cigarettes. “North Korean counterfeit cigarette trade faces squeeze“

18 March 2016: Dr. Louise Shelley spoke at the 2nd “Diagohi sulle Mafie” conference in Naples, Italy.

17 March 2016: Dr. Louise Shelley is mentioned in Norwegian publication Altaposten story on the role of cigarette smuggling in terror finance. “Koster dyrt for lokale forhandlere“

17 March 2016: Yahoo News Italian covers “Dialoghi sulle Mafie” in Naples, and Louise Shelley’s presentation at it. It also quotes her book, Dirty Entanglements. “Contrabbando e criminalità a base finanziamenti gruppi terroristici”

15 March 2016: Dr. Louise Shelley is mentioned in write up on 4 day conference in Naples, Italy, “Dialoghi sulle Mafie” on Italian website Corriere della Sera. “Le Quattro Giornate dei Dialoghi sulle mafie“

25 February 2016: Louise Shelley, with Christina Bain, write for digital platform, Brink, on the options for and scrutiny needed to eliminate forced labor from supply chains. “Slavery Infuses Supply Chains, Demanding Closer Scrutiny by Companies.“

12 February 2016: An interview with Dr. Shelley is featured in a new book for the German military on understanding modern terrorism. Wir sind schuld! is by Thomas Franke.

5 February 2016: German website Online Focus mentions Dr. Louise Shelley’s work on terror financing in its analysis of the evolution of ISIS and the fight against it. “Von der Leyen: IS-Präsenz in Libyen verstärkt Druck“

4 February 2016: Canada’s CBCNews credits Louise Shelley and Dirty Entanglements for the new phrase used by Canadian Defence Minister to describe ISIS. “Criminal organization, religious extremists? Words matter when it comes to ISIS“

2 February 2016: Italian publication Il Lametino quoted Dr. Louise Shelley in a new article on the risk of terrorism in Italy as compared to its neighbors. This piece is a follow-on to a program that Dr. Louise Shelley spoke at, in November, at the Italian Parliament, focused on links between illicit trade and terrorism. Read it L’Italia nel mezzo della complessità islamica e della miseria in Africa

January 2016: Dr. Shelley writes “Terrorismus in Europa 2016,” in Sicher. Und Morgen? Sicherheitspolitische Jahresvorschau 2016 Vienna: Direktion für Sicherheitspolitik im BMLV, 2015, 118-120.

31 January 2016: Dr. Shelley presented at “HUMAN TRAFFICKING: Get the Facts and Take Action!” hosted by the Northern Virginia Women’s Commissions. Other speakers included Elizabeth Scaife, Director of Training, Shared Hope International; Detective Bill Woolf, Fairfax County Police Department; Dr. Liz Payne, Fairfax County Public Schools; and Beth Saunders and Jodi Ohern, Just Ask Trafficking Prevention Foundation.

29 January 2016: German publication finanzen.net writes about the need to attack terrorism through the financial systems, as follow-up to “Eurasia and Armed Radicalism” conference in Berlin. The article cites Dr. Shelley’s input and participation in the conference. “Experten: Kampf gegen IS-Terror muss stärker bei den Finanzquellen ansetzen“

26-27 January 2016: Dr. Shelley presented at the conference, “Eurasia and Armed Radicalism,” organized by NATO Defense College Foundation and the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), in Berlin, Germany.

25 January 2016: Dr. Shelley is quoted in Money Laundering Bulletin article entitled, “Shaky foundations – real estate compliance.” Login required for reading.

25 January 2016: UK website, Financial Director, quotes Dr. Shelley, from Der Spiegel, in writing on the business model and financial structures of ISIS. “Corporate terror: how the Islamic State accounts for terrorism“

13 January 2016: Dr. Shelley spoke on “The Supply Chain and Human Trafficking,” at a session on Expanding the Scope of Resilience: Concerns about Human Trafficking and Hazardous Materials, as part of the Transportation Research Board, 95th Annual Meeting, Jan. 13, 2016, Washington, DC.

December 2015: TraCCC PhD. student, Andy Guth writes a chapter in the OECD report Illicit Trade: Converging Criminal Networks, on trends and patterns in human trafficking.

30 December 2015: Dr. Shelley is interviewed by German website Taz.de about terror financing and networking. “Terroristen denken unternehmerisch“

23 December 2015: TraCCC grant award from the US government to conduct research into transnational organized crime in rhino poaching in South Africa is part of New York Times story on US investment in combating wildlife crime in South Africa. Read the story U.S. Pours Millions Into Fighting Poachers in South Africa.

17 December 2015: Dr. Shelley is mentioned in article by Marketplace, on NPR, on UN Ministers’ meeting on fighting terrorism. Read the story “U.N. ministers vow to fight terror in historic move“

9 December 2015: Dr. Shelley is quoted in Politico on European networks involved in the recent terror attacks in Paris. Read the article “Germany fights terror with red tape“

29 November 2015: Dr. Shelley is quoted in New York Times story on how ISIS makes money from taxing and extorting payments from people living under its control. Read the story Predatory Islamic State Wrings Money From Those It Rules.

27 November 2015: Louise Shelley authors op-ed for The Guardian on the role of the illicit cigarette trade in terror funding. Read the article How to beat Islamic State? Crack down on cigarette smuggling.

25 November 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley guests on podcast from French website TSFJazz.

23 November 2015: Frankfurter Allgemeine of Germany, quotes Dr. Louise Shelley in a story on ISIS financing. Read the story Wie finanziert sich der IS?.

21 November 2015: Italian publication InfoAut quotes Dr. Shelley and cites a corresponding January 6 article in Der Spiegel in its analysis of fighting the financing of terrorism. Read the story Isis e la guerra finanziaria.

20 November 2015: Louise Shelley authors op-ed for the New York Times on varying funding and financial needs of ISIS in the Middle East versus it’s terrorist activities in the West. Read it ISIS’ Members Depend on Petty Crime to Function in Europe.

19 November 2015: Dr. Shelley is quoted by Marketplace in story on terror funding and “following the money.” Listen to the story Tracking terror funding enters a new era.

19 November 2015: French publication Le Figaro quotes Dr. Louise Shelley in story on the diversification of ISIS activity and funding. Read the story Pétrole, taxes, trafics d’humains: comment Daech se finance.

19 November 2015: French language site for MSN.com picks up Le Figaro story on ISIS funding, quoting Dr. Shelley. Read the story here.

19 November 2015: German publication, Zeit Online, quotes Dr. Shelley in its story about the business model of ISIS. Read the story Der Kalifat-Konzern.

19 November 2015: France 24 news channel reruns interview with Louise Shelley on ISIS. The interview originally aired March 11. Watch Smuggling of oil ‘is only one of IS group’s illicit activities’.

17 November 2015: German website new.de picks up story from Stern and quotes Dr. Shelley in, Wie der IS seine Machenschaften finanziert.

17 November 2015: German publication Stern quotes Dr. Louise Shelley in story on ISIS funding. Read the story So verdient der Islamische Staat Milliarden.

17 November 2015: Dr. Shelley is quoted in Italian website ADNKronos story on Islamic State finance structures. Read the story L’Isis si finanzia anche con il contrabbando di sigarette.

17 November 2015: Askanews.com interviews Louise Shelley in story on role of cigarette smuggling in terror financing. Watch and read the story Dal contrabbando di sigarette alla pornografia, così si finanzia l’Is.

16 November 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley is speaker at conference on the connection between trafficking and terrorism, held at the Parliament of Italy. Read about the event and listen to speeches here.

16 November 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley is guest on Marketplace with David Brancaccio, to discuss ISIS funding and recent ISIS claimed attacks in Paris. Listen to the interview Interrupting funding to terrorist groups.

16 November 2015: Italian website First Online quotes Louise Shelley in story on the role of illicit cigarettes in terror financing.

15 November 2015: Belgian publication Tendances Trends interviewed Dr. Louise Shelley about ISIS funding. Read the interview Au sein de l’État islamique, l’argent l’emporte sur l’idéologie.

11 November 2015: French publication Languedoc-Roussillon quotes Dr. Louise Shelley in story on impacts of environmental crime effects on climate. Read the story, in French, La criminalité environnementale” denoncée à Nîmes pour son impact direct sur le climat.

17 October 2015: Wall Street Journal quotes Dr. Louise Shelley in story about a rare U.S. law suit on laundering money through real estate. Read the story Lawsuit Says Manhattan Real Estate Was Used to Launder Money.

7 October 2015:Dr. Louise Shelley presents at 8th Research Conference on Organised Crime, sponsored by the German Bundeskriminalamt. She presented “The Globalization of Russian Speaking Organized Crime.” Information about the conference series is here.

28 September 2015: NTDTV.com picks up Epoch Times article and quotes Dr. Louise Shelley on why human trafficking is so rampant. Read the article, in Chinese, 人口販運猖獗受害者有家歸不得.

27 September 2015: Dr. Shelley is quoted in Epoch Times piece on human trafficking. Read the article, in Chinese, here.

25 September 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley presented on the nexus of human trafficking and terrorism at the annual meeting of Historians Against Slavery at the National National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, in Cincinnati, Ohio.

15 September 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley presented the keynote address at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Germany, at their Senior Executive Seminar, on the links between crime, corruption, and terrorism. Read about the event here.

9 September 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley testifies before Task Force to Investigate Terrorism Financing, as part of the House Committee on Financial Services. Read the press release. Read Dr. Shelley’s written testimony.

9 September 2015: Fox News Latino quotes Dr. Shelley’s book, Human Trafficking: A Global Perspective, in publication on trafficking in children in Central America.

3 September 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley is a panelist at the 16th Annual International Anticorruption Congress in Putrajaya, Malaysia. The panel was entitled, “Turning a Blind Eye: Combating Corruption Facilitating Wildlife Trafficking.” Read about the event here.

3 September 2015: Foreign Policy references TraCCC report from 2004 in story on corruption in education in the nation of Georgia. Read the article here.

27 August 2015: Norwegian publication Aftenposten quotes Dr. Louise Shelley in an article discussing the role of ISIS in the global market of illicit antiquities. Read the article, in Norwegian, År null i Palmyra.

1 August 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley authors chapter in newly published book: “Crime and Corruption,” in Putin’s Russia: Past Imperfect, Future Uncertain ed. Stephen K. Wegren, 6^th ed. (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield, 2015), 193-213. Available for purchase here.

31 July 2015: Norwegian publication Aftenposten quotes Dr. Louise Shelley in an article discussing the politics vs. religion of ISIS’s reign of terror. Read the article, in Norwegian Kronikk: Mer politikk, mindre religion.

29 July 2015: Dr. Shelley presented “How Transnational Crime affects Human Trafficking,” at the 2015 International Workshop on Strategies for Combating Human Trafficking in Taipei, Taiwan.

25 July 2015: Guatemalan publication El Economista quotes Dr. Louise Shelley in a discussion of the potential of corruption fighting methods in Honduras and El Salvador that mimic those in Guatemala. Read the article, in Spanish, Sube tono en Washington por corrupción en Centroamérica.

24 July 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley is quoted in an article in publication, La Prensa Grafica, of El Salvador, discussing the corruption fighting methods of Hondurus and El Salvador. Read the article, in Spanish here.

23 July 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley and TraCCC advised Ph.D.candidate Andy Guth are featured in episode of Ali Velshi “On Target” on Al Jazeera America network. Watch the highlights The Dark Web has become a black market Amazon.

21 July 2015: Dr. Shelley presented “How To Take A Country Back from Crime” at an event at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced and International Studies, co-hosted by the Washington Office on Latin America.

1 July 2015: Vietnamese publication, Soha News, quotes Dr. Louise Shelley in an article about the use of antiquities trafficking as a funding source for ISIS. Read the article, in Vietnamese, Hết tiền, phiến quân IS quyết định lên mạng “dọn nhà đỡ chật”.

26 June – 1 July 2015: Louise Shelley presented “The Relationship of Crime and Terrorism,” at the 2015 Forum for the International Society of Criminology, at the Zhejiang Police College, in Hangzhou, China.

29 June 2015: MSN News quotes Bloomberg story and Dr. Louise Shelley in story about the growing role of ISIS in the global antiquities market, and its use of antiquities as a funding source.

29 June 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley is quoted in Artnet News writing on the role of ISIS in the looting and selling of antiquities.

28 June 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley is quoted in Bloomberg Business article on the exploitation of antiquities by ISIS as part of a diversified business. Read the article here.

16 June 2015: International Business Times quotes Dr. Louise Shelley in article on the adaptive nature of funding of the Islamic State. Read the article here.

1 June 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley writes for American Legion Magazine on the roots of ISIS and the “whole-society” approach required to address it.

1 June 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley is interviewed by French publication, L’Opinion about terrorist funding. Read it in French here.

30 May 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley and TraCCC Senior Fellow on Transnational Crime, Gretchen Peters, are featured in episode of Earth Focus, entitled “Illicit Ivory.”

30 May 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley is featured on a web only episode of Earth Focus on illicit wildlife trade.

26 May 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley in interviewed by German language, Luxembourg publication, Tageblatt about the business model of ISIS.

18 May 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley is featured speaker for Council of Former Federal Executives (COFFE) luncheon series. The talk focused on crime, corruption, and human trafficking.

6 May 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley was a panelist at the 45th International Peace Institute Vienna Seminar, titled The United Nations at 70. The panel was entitled “To Save Succeeding Generations”: Threats to International Peace and Security in the 21st Century.

International Peace Institute Vienna Seminar

30 April 2015: Mason News covers TraCCC Panel Presentation on Human Trafficking. Read about the event here.

28-29 April 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley co-chaired panels and spoke at the U.S. France Cooperative Futures Forum, Anticipating Threats and Risks, hosted at the U.S. Department of State.

27 April 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley is interviewed by German newspaper Saarbrücker Zeitung on the business of terrorists and their markets in the West. Read it in German here.

24 April 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley speaks at the Indiana University Governance and Management Research Speaker Series. The event was titled Dirty Entanglements: Corruption, Crime and Terrorism and the Policy Implications.

24 April 2015: TraCCC PhD student, Andy Guth is quoted in Washington Post Fact Checker regarding methodologies for reporting human trafficking statistics. Read it here.

23 April 2015: TraCCC PhD recipient, Bilal Wahab co-authored a piece for Rudaw on the continuing effects of ISIS on the cultural heritage of Iraq and Syria. Read it here.

22 April 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley is named to the inaugural class of Andrew Carnegie Fellows. Read the press release here. Read the New York Times story on the award here.

22 April 2015: TraCCC Senior Fellow for Transnational Crime authored an op-ed in Business Insider discussing sanctions as an option for crime syndicates engaged in wildlife crime. Read it here.

20 April 2015: TraCCC PhD student, Nazia Hussein authored an op-ed on urban battlegrounds for the International Relations and Security Network. Read it here.

15 April 2015: UNODC Executive Director, Yury Fedotov referenced the terrorism “business model” coined in Dr. Shelley’s book, “Dirty Entanglements” during his speech at a panel for The UN Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons during the ongoing UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. Read the local news report on the panel here.

14 April 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley served as a panelist at an ancillary meeting organized by the UNODC Civil Society Team together with the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, the UNCAC Coalition and the Government of Norway on the margins of the 13th UN Crime Congress. The panel discussed breaking the chain between corruption and organized crime in the post-2015 development agenda. Read the write-up here.

14 April 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley is mentioned in Al Jazeera reporting of the UN Congress of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. Read the story here.

14 Apil 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley presents “Breaking the Chain between Corruption and Organised Crime in the Post-2015 Development Agenda” at the UN Congress of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, in Doha. View the summary here. Also available in French here.

11 April 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley is featured guest on the radio show “Frontlines of Freedom” to discuss today’s terrorism situation. The interview starts at minute 24, here.

April 2015: New article by Louise Shelley and Christina Bain, “Human Trafficking: Fighting the Illicit Economy with the Legitimate Economy,” is published in the peer reviewed journal Social Inclusion. Download the article here.

24 March 2015: The National Law Forum quotes Dr. Louise Shelley in a study of ISIS destruction of cultural heritage pieces. Read it here.

March 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley authors a book chapter called “Corruption and Youths Recruitment into Violent Extremism,” in the new book Countering Radicalisation and Violent Extremism Among Youth to Prevent Terrorism, eds. Marco Lombardi et. al. (Amsterdam: IOS Press, 2015), NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme, pp. 37-47. Buy the book, e-book, or e-chapters here.

Countering Radicalisation book cover

March 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley is special guest at the U.S. embassy in France to discuss her book, Dirty Entanglements.

18 March 2015: Moroccan newspaper L’Economiste references Dr. Louise Shelley in an article examining the threat of ISIS. Read it in French, here.

17 March 2015: Foreign Policy cites Dirty Entanglements as a driver of the conversation around the links between corruption and violent extremism. Read it here.

15 March 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley discusses ISIS funding with French publication L’OBS. Read in French, here.

13 March 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley is interviewed by French news channel, France24, in French, about diversified terrorist funding.

12 March 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley is featured on France24 show “The Interview” to discuss diverse sources of funding for ISIS.

10 March 2015: The NewStatesman quotes Dr. Louise Shelley in its in depth analysis of ISIS and the role religion plays in the organization. Read it here.

9 March 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley’s talk at French University, Sciences Po is mentioned in the weekly strategic newsletter, TTU.

9 March 2015: Dr. Shelley takes part in Roundtable discussion in French co-organized by La Revue Civique, CEVIPOF, IPSE, and the US Embassy. Topic: Terrorisme, Crime organisé et Corruption: Faire face aux nouvelles menaces imbriquées. Hosted by CEVIPOF Political Research Center attached to Sciences Po. La Revue Civique Publication at the crossroads of debates, new ideas and experiences. It concerns individual and collective co-responsibility issues of NGOs, institutions, media and companies. IPSE Institut de recherche décentralisé

9 March 2015: The Financial Express of Bangladesh uses the work of Dr. Louise Shelley in a piece on the impact of transnational organized crime on the 21st Century, and South Asia.

9 March 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley gave a lecture in French at the law and political science program at the Université Paris Ouest Nanterre on Dirty Entanglements.

Louise Shelley at Université Paris Ouest Nanterre

7 March 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley is a guest on BBC radio 5 Live’s Up All Night to discuss new attacks on Libyan oil fields. Listen here.

5 March 2015: German publication DW quotes Dr. Louise Shelley in its analysis of ISIS funding and operations. Read in German here. It is also published in Portuguese here.

2 March 2015: Crisis Response Journal discusses the World Economic Forum report, “Hedging risk by combating human trafficking: Insights from the private sector,” co-authored by Louise Shelley, in its blog entry, ” Using technology and big data to disrupt trafficking.” Read the blog here.

March 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley is featured in 30minute podcast The Big Trade Series with Peter Pham. They discuss issues of convergence and the challenges posed for addressing crime and terrorism in the future, as well as specific examples like ISIS. Listen here. The episode, The Business of Terrorism is also available on Itunes here.

28 February 2015: Danish newspaper, Kristeligt-Dagblad mentions Dr. Shelley in its reporting on the money making methods of ISIS. Read it in Danish here.

26 February 2015: Deutche Welle interviewed Dr. Louise Shelley on ISIS funding on its television program. The interview was broadcast in more than 30 languages. Watch in English here.

25 February 2015: Louise Shelley addressed the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) in Berlin “The Alliance between Terrorism, organized crime and corruption: How can financing and Recruitment be stopped.” Her co-panelist was Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieber, the Director of the Max-Placnk Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law in Freiburg.

24 February 2015: German publication Heisen Online references Dr. Louise Shelley’s talk at the meeting of the European Police Congress in its coverage of the event. Read it in German here.

24 February 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley delivers keynote address to European Police Congress, held in Germany.

Dr. Shelley at EU police conference

23 February 2015: TraCCC scholar, Nazia Hussein is quoted in Harvard Political Review regarding crime and politics in Karachi, Pakistan. Read the article here.

18 February 2015: The World Economic Forum published a web article in conjunction with release of the 2014 Human Trafficking report. Article and report are co-authored by Dr. Louise Shelley.

18 February 2015: The World Economic Forum releases its report Hedging Risk by Combating Human Trafficking: Insights from the Private Sector, co-authored by Dr. Louise Shelley. Read the report here.

16 February 2015: BBC Radio’s 5Live interview Dr. Louise Shelley about ISIS in light of recent activity in Lybia. Listen here.

11 February 2015: Newsmax TV’s Midpoint features interview with Dr. Louise Shelley on the terrorist business model of ISIS. Watch the interview here.

10 February 2015: Great Decisions on PBS, as part of the Foreign Policy Association features Dr. Louise Shelley in this year’s episode on Modern Slavery. See the lineup here.

7 February 2015: New York Times cover story investigated dirty money in the real estate market of Manhattan, echoing multiple 2014 articles that Dr. Louise Shelley contributed to in The Nation and ICIJ. Also see her article on money laundering into real estate in Convergence.

5 February 2015: Business Insider references a previous article by Dr. Louise Shelley in Foreign Affairs. Read the Business Insider here. Read Foreign Affairs here.

4 February 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley is quoted in publication by Transparency International entitled, “Tackle instability and terrorism by fighting corruption.” Read the article here.

January 2015: George Mason University School of Policy, Government and International Affairs ranks 10th among the 50 most innovative public service schools in the U.S., and TraCCC gets a mention in that ranking! See the list here.

28 January 2015: The Icelandic National Broadcasting System featured a story highlighting the TraCCC Human Trafficking Panel Presentation of January 22. Panelist, Detective Bill Woolf, of the Fairfax County Police Department Human Trafficking unit was interviewed for the story.

25 January 2015: Louise Shelley addressed the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) in Berlin “The Alliance between Terrorism, organized crime and corruption: How can financing and Recruitment be stopped.” Her co-panelist was Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieber, the Director of the Max-Placnk

23 January 2015: Louise Shelley’s work in human trafficking and transnational crime is mentioned in blog by Ambassador Adam Blackwell called “3 Key Steps to Stop Human Trafficking.”

23 January 2015: Asahi Shimbun, the largest circulation newspaper in Japan, features an interview with Dr. Louise Shelley on hostage taking as a means of fundraising in the wake of the abduction of two Japanese nationals by the so-called Islamic State.

22 January 2015: French weekly, L’Express includes comments from Dr. Louise Shelley on the diversification of terrorist funding. Read it in French here.

21 January 2015: Flemish language publication in the Netherlands, Knack, features an interview with Dr. Louise Shelley on fundraising practices of groups like ISIS. Read it in Flemish here. Read it in French here.

20 January 2015: Norwegian newspaper, Fredriksstad Blad, included input from Dr. Louise Shelley in its look at the role the illicit cigarette trade in Norway could play in terrorism funding.

20 January 2015: Swiss Radio and Television, SRF, interviewed Dr. Louise Shelley on terrorism funding and its similarities with large companies and historical organized criminal groups like the mafia.

20 January 2015: Thai news website, The World Today (โลกวันนี้), featured Dr. Shelley in writing about terrorist funding and how to address extremism.

19 January 2015: C-SPAN has reaired the Oct. 22 Book TV presentation on “Dirty Entanglements.” Watch it here.

15 January 2015: Huffington Post Germany features Dr. Louise Shelley in article about terrorist funding. Original German here.

15 January 2015: German magazine Bild features conversation with Dr. Louise Shelley on terrorist funding. Original German here.

15 January 2015: Italian website Giornalettismo features analysis by Dr. Louise Shelley in its writing on the use of the trade in pornography as a funding source for ISIS. Read it in Italian here.

15 January 2015: In its January/February issue, Washington Monthly has included a book review of Dirty Engtanglemts: Corruption, Crime, and Terrorism. Read the review here.

13 January 2015: Dr. Shelley was interviewed by La Revue Civique. The interview can be read, in French, here.

13 January 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley is featured in the new issue of Le Point discussing the recent terrorist attacks in Paris.

13 January 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley is interviewed by Romanian publication Adevarul in reference to terrorist funding. Read it in Romanian here.

12 January 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley was interviewed by Italian publication, Panorama, on terrorism, transnational crime and Jihidis in Europe. Read the interview, in Italian, here.

11 January 2015: Italian website Il Giornale included segments of a recent interview of Dr. Louise Shelley by Der Spiegel in its writings on ISIS funding channels. Read in Italian here.

11 January 2015: George Mason University and Louise Shelley are mentioned in analysis of “gangsterrorisme”. Read in French here.

10 January 2015: Vietnamese website Người Lao Động uses information from Dr. Louise Shelley in its analysis of terrorist attacks in Paris. Read in Vietnamese here.

9 January 2015: The Buenos Aires Herald includes quote from Dr. Louise Shelley in it’s analysis of terrorist attacks in Paris. Read it here.

7 January 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley and GMU are featured on Bloomberg TV addressing the terrorist attack on the headquarters of “Charlie Hebdo” in Paris. Watch the clip here.

5 January 2015: Famed German magazine, Der Spiegel interviewed Dr. Louise Shelley. Read in English here.

5 January 2015: Dr. Louise Shelley is featured in an interview with renowned publication, Der Spiegel.

26 December 2014: Dr. Louise Shelley writes about the links between Human Trafficking and Terrorism for the Daily Beast. Read the article here.

19 December 2014: Dr. Louise Shelley is featured in the January/February issue of Fraud Magazine. The issue examines money laundering in the real estate sector and the requirements, or lack thereof, for the industry to perform due diligence in verifying the source of payment for real estate purchases. Read the article here.

15 December 2014: A book discussion on “Dirty Entanglements” was held at the German Bundestag, organized by Zukunftsforum Öffentliche Sicherheit (Think Tank Public Security). The event was hosted by, Sabine Rau, political correspondent for public broadcasting station ARD, and the panel discussion included Prof. Florian Kühn, Humboldt University Berlin.

15 December 2014: Dr. Louise Shelley presented her book, “Dirty Entanglements,” at the international headquarters of Transparency International, in Berlin.

15 December 2014: TraCCC director, Dr. Louise Shelley, spoke at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, along with former German Federal Minister of Justice, Sabine Leutheuser-Schnarrenberger. They spoke about Dr. Shelley’s book, Dirty Entanglements, as well as terrorist funding. Watch the talks here, and view the subsequest Q&A here.

Louise Shelley and Sabine Leutheuser-Schnarrenberger at Hertie School of Governance

5 Demember 2014: The Fiscal Times quoted Dr. Louise Shelley in its analysis of Vladimir Putin’s address to the Russian Federal Assembly regarding the financial assets of Russians that are held outside the country. Read the article here.

3 December 2014: The Morning Briefing with Tim Farley on the POTUS station of Sirius/XM radio featured Dr. Louise Shelley. Subscribers can listen here.

1 December 2014: Foreign Affairs published an article by Dr. Louise Shelley that chronicles the diversification of money making efforts by the group, ISIS. Read the article here.

18 November 2014: David Luna, Senior Director for Anticrime Programs, at the State Department Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, cited Dirty Entanglements by Dr. Louise Shelley, and mentioned TraCCC and GMU during his remarks to the NATO Advance Research Workshop. The workshop was titled, “Neutralizing Radicalized Threat Networks, Disrupting WMD Illicit Traffickers and Targeting Corrupt Facilitators.”

17 November: TraCCC staff and students Andy Guth, Robyn Anderson, Kasey Kinnard, and Hang Tran have had an article published in the peer reviewed journal “Social Inclusion.” The paper, called “Proper Methodology and Methods of Collecting and Analyzing Slavery Data: An Examination of the Global Slavery Index” can be read here.

14 November 2014: Famed German newspaper, Die Welt interviewed Dr. Louise Shelley on her book, Dirty Entanglements, and on the changing face of terrorism funding for groups like the so-called Islamic State. The interview was featured in online and print issues of the paper. Read it online, in German, here.

13 November 2014: The U.S. Embassy in South Africa issued a press release detailing its distribution of $3 million to fund anti-wildlife trafficking efforts in South Africa. This funding comes through the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, and includes TraCCC’s funding for current wildlife crime research in South Africa.

13 November 2014: Dr. Shelley was a keynote speaker at the Global Witness 20th anniversary event in Washington DC on November 13th; ‘Guns, Gems, Trees & Oil; Reflections on Two Decades of Global Witness’ Work and the Implications for US Foreign Policy’

Shelley at Global Witness

30 October 2014: Dr. Shelley is featured on the Kojo Nnamdi show on NPR station WAMA 88.5FM to discuss ISIS funding. Additional guests included Juan Zarate, Senior Adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Matthew Levitt, Director of the Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute on Near East Policy. Listen to the show here.

22 October 2014: Dr. Shelley presents Dirty Entanglements and takes questions about transnational crime, corruption and terrorism at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The event was moderated by Moisés Naím and aired on C-Span’s BookTV. Watch the presentation here.

24 October 2014: Dr. Shelley is featured on the Tavis Smiley Radio Show on Public Radio International to discuss terrorism, corruption and organized crime. Listen to the interview here.

14-15 October 2014: Dr Shelley spoke in panel discussions at the closed-door forum on cyber security and the growing worldwide challenge of cyber crime. The event was hosted by the French-American Foundation and Interpol. Topics presented by Dr. Shelley included Characterizing Illicit Activity in Cyberspace:Porous Conceptual Boundaries and Legal Frameworks.

29 September 2014: Dr. Shelley spoke with John Hockenberry of The Take Away to discuss the U.S. strategy for ISIS and changes that should be considered. Listen here.

22 September 2014: Long time TraCCC contributor and affiliate, Richard Kauzlarich (former US ambassador to Azerbaijan) was quoted by the Huffington Post, in a blog post, on the influence over U.S. foreign policy that is exerted by external forces and governments. Read the post here.

19 September 2014: Dr. Shelley’s book, Dirty Entanglements is featured, with an excerpt, in the online magazine “Warscapes,” which publishes literature that puts a lens on areas of conflict in the world. Read the article here.

10 September 2014: Dr. Louise Shelley is featured in a Fox 29 San Antonio story on the global reach of ISIS. A timely talk given the unveiling of President Obama’s plan for addressing ISIS (aka ISIL). Watch the story here.

29 August 2014: Excerpt of Louise Shelley’s book, Dirty Entanglements: Corruption, Crime and Terrorism was featured by CQ Researcher in its report on Transnational Crime, to address the question, “Is cross-border criminality getting worse?” The excerpt can be seen here. View the complete report here.

21 August 2014: Louise Shelley was guest contributor on the John Batchelor radio show, hosted by Malcolm Hoenlein, where she discussed her new book, Dirty Entanglements: Corruption, Crime, and Terrorism. Listen here (Dr. Shelley enters at 31min and 25sec) and stay tuned for information on her return to the show for a full length discussion of the book.

3 July 2014: The Nation published report on the presence of dirty money in Manahattan real estate transactions, and included analysis by Dr. Louise Shelley. Read the article here.

3 July 2014: The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists issued their study of illicit financial flows in real estate transactions, including interview with Dr. Louise Shelley. Read the artile here.

22 May 2014: USA Today published column by Louise Shelley addressing kidnapping as a fundraising tool of Boko Haram. Addressing the business model of this group and many like it could be the key to succeeding where military action alone has failed to minimize the effects of these organizations. Read the article here.

8 May 2014: Louise Shelley served as guest expert on transnational crime and the business acumen of terrorist organizations on Icelandic radio. Note that the interviewer is speaking Icelandic. Listen to the story here.

12 March 2014: Louise Shelley gave a lecture (in French) on The Future Trends of Terrorism and Crime at the graduate degree program on Contemporary Criminal Threats at the University of Paris-Pantheon-Assas.

March 2014: The Asian Journal of Criminology (volume 9, #1) published Louise Shelley’s review of Crime and Terrorism by Peter Grabosky and Michael Stohl (ISBN: 978-1-84920-031-8). The journal is available online, and the review can be accessed here.

March 2014: The Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime featured an interview with Louise Shelley on transnational organized crime.

February 2014: Louise Shelley’s report Human Smuggling and Trafficking into Europe: A Comparative Perspective was published by the Transatlantic Council on Migration.

28 January 2014: TraCCC PhD candidate Bilal Wahab will give a talk at the Council on Foreign Relations entitled Turmoil in Iraq: The View from Erbil. Mr. Wahab is a lecturer at The American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS).

January 2014: Turkish publisher Adalet Yayınevi has published an important new book in Turkish by TraCCC alumnus Dr. Mahmut Cengiz. Küreselleşmenin Karanlik Noktasi Organize Suçlar (ISBN 978-605-1463-018) is a comprehensive overview of transnational organized crime, and includes treatment of such issues as globalization, the historic development of organized crime, illicit networks, threat finance, corruption and money laundering, as well as the principal tools in the fight against organized crime.

16 December 2013: An op-ed piece co-written by Senior Advisor Ambassador (ret.) Kenneth Yalowitz was published in The American Interest. Entitled Georgia Needs Leaders, Not Messiahs, it discusses the challenges and opportunities facing Georgia’s new generation of leaders. Read the full text here.

19 November 2013: TraCCC staff and students attended a one-day symposium celebrating Mason’s commitment to the United Nations Global Compact, a strategic policy initiative for businesses and other organizations c2ommitted to aligning their operations and strategies with 10 widely accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment, and anticorruption. Graduate students Andy Guth and Enkhchimeg Sengee delivered presentations on their work in these areas, and Ms. Sengee also gave a poster presentation for the midday session of the symposium. A report on Mason’s UNGC-related activities during the 2012-13 academic year is available online.

Enkhchimeg Sengee discusses TraCCC’s current initiatives at the UNGC Symposium

7 November 2013: TraCCC Senior Policy Fellow and Diplomat in Residence Ambassador (ret.) Kenneth Yalowitzgave a talk at the at Kennan Institute entitled The 2013 Georgian Presidential Election: An Assessment. Having served as an election monitor under the auspices of the National Democratic Institute, Amb. Yalowitz offered an evaluation of the election based on his observations.

31 October 2013: Dr. Louise Shelley was quoted in International Educator (vol. 22, no. 5, September-October 2013) on the links between organized crime, corruption and human trafficking. A copy of the article on human trafficking can be downloaded here.

3 October 2013 TraCCC researcher Dmitry Poletaev presented the findings of his recent research project in a press conference at the Independent Press Center. It was held in conjunction with the Department of Interregional Cooperation, National Policy and Relations with Religious Organizations in Moscow. Dr. Poletaev discussed the plight of migrant workers’ children in Moscow. The audience included experts from the mass media, the regional Department of Education and administrators from the City of Moscow. For more information on Dr. Poletaev’s work, see Aaron Beitment’s TraCCC blog post from August 21, 2013.

22 September 2013: Louise Shelley was quoted in The Jerusalem Post in an article by Harold Goldmeier called Your Business: The Seamy Underbelly of Business, which outlines the scope and character of the global human trafficking problem. The full article (in English) is available here.

22 September 2013: Human Security, Transnational Crime and Human Trafficking: Asian and Western Perspectives (edited by Shiro Okubo and Louise Shelley) is now available in paperback. The volume examines the global problems of human trafficking and organized crime, compares the experience and perception of these problems in Asia and the West, and discusses the policy responses of key states and international institutions.

10 September 2013: Routledge launched a new title in their Transnational Crime and Corruption series: Environmental Crime in Russia: Federal and Regional Perspectives. Edited by Sally Stoecker and Ramziya Shakirova, this collection examines a wide range of Russian environmental crime, from radioactive pollutants to illegal logging and wildlife poaching, as well as the corruption that facilitates it.

2-6 September 2013: Dr. Louise Shelley was a keynote speaker at an event in Bogota, which marked the 15^thanniversary of Transparency International’s activities in Colombia. During her visit to Bogota, she was interviewed for Colombian television (Canal Capital’s Su Madre Naturaleza) in connection with the event. Watch the entire broadcast (in Spanish) here.

She also gave an interview for Semana in Colombia, in which she discussed successes and challenges in the fight against crime and corruption, both in Colombia and worldwide. For the full written article (in Spanish), click here.

September 2013: Dr. Louise Shelley serves on the OECD Task Force on Charting Illicit Trade, for which she has been appointed co-chair of the subgroup on Trafficking in Persons. TraCCC Senior Fellow Gretchen Peters now co-chairs the subgroup on Environmentally Sensitive Goods.

16 August 2013: Dr. Louise Shelley’s book Human Trafficking: A Global Perspective was mentioned by John Tirman in the Washington Post, in his discussion of Human Trafficking Around the World: Hidden in Plain Sight by Stephanie Hepburn and Rita J. Simon. Read the full piece here.

31 May 2013: With Denis Corboy and William Courtney, TraCCC’s diplomat-in-residence Ambassador (ret.) Ken Yalowitz and Deputy Director Ambassador (ret.) Rich Kauzlarich co-wrote an op-ed on Changing Strategic Interests in the South Caucasus in The American Interest.

3 May 2013: TraCCC doctoral student Nazia Hussain has been awarded a fellowship to attend the TSAS Summer Academy 2013, the summer school of the Canadian network for research on Terrorism, Security and Society. This week-long program for graduate, post-doctoral students and junior policy makers in government, will be held at the Liu Institute for Global Issues, on the Vancouver Campus of the University of British Columbia.

2 May 2013: Nazia Hussain’s post Pakistan’s Jihadi Problem and the Middle East was published as part of the Middle East-Asia Project (MAP), and initiative undertaken by the Middle East Institute.

25 April 2013: TraCCC’s publication Organized Crime and Corruption in Georgia, edited by Louise Shelley, Erik R. Scott and Anthony Latta, was reprinted in paperback this month.

16 April 2013: Dr. Louise Shelley’s participation in Grinnell College’s three-day program on human trafficking was covered by KCRG news.

5 April 2013: Firstpost published an article on Gretchen Peters’ research on Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, who “has emerged as the principal provider of financial services to narcotics traffickers and jihadists across South Asia”. Peters describes Ibrahim as “the Goldman Sachs of organised crime”, moving “billions of dollars annually”, and servicing “a wide range of clients from corrupt officials, to drug traffickers to terrorists”.

25 March 2013: Dr. Louise Shelley was interviewed for KFUO radio’s BookTalk about her book Human Trafficking: A Global Perspective. She discussed with host Rodney Zwonitzer the scale and character of the global human trafficking problem, as well as its impact in the U.S. A recording of the full interview can be streamed or downloaded here.

21 March 2013: Dr. Louise Shelley received the G. O. W. Mueller Award for Outstanding Contributions to International Criminal Justice by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. The Mueller Award is conferred annually on an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the field of comparative/international criminal justice spanning the areas of scholarship, leadership, and service. Dr. Shelley accepted the award at the ACJS 2013 Annual Meeting in Dallas, TX.

27 February 2013: TraCCC completed a report on its activities with regard to the United Nations Global Compact. On July 1, 2012, George Mason University formally joined UNGC, which is a strategic policy initiative for businesses and other organizations that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten widely accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption. TraCCC’s well-established work in all four of these areas serves to underscore Mason’s commitment to the principles of the UNGC.

26 February 2013: TraCCC Ph.D. candidate Nazia Hussain co-authored an op-ed piece entitled Afghanistan 2015: The Dawn of a Regional Opium War?, which was published in Yale’s Journal of International Affairs.

20 February 2013: Dr. Louise Shelley spoke at the monthly dinner meeting of The Arlington Committee of One Hundred, an event which explored the scale and character of the trade in persons, as well as its impact on Arlington and other counties in Northern Virginia.

18 February 2013: Dr. Louise Shelley spoke as part of a webinar on human trafficking, in conjunction with Social Media Week: Washington DC.

31 January 2013: Alexandra Selzer’s article Human trafficking: the case of Burmese refugees in Thailand was published in the International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice. The article has been published online, and will appear in a print issue of the journal later in the year.

29 January 2013: TraCCC’s Deputy Director, Amb. (ret.) Richard Kauzlarich, was interviewed by Voice of America regarding recent developments in Azerbaijan, including corruption. A video of the full interview (in Azerbaijani) is available here.

26 January 2013: Dr. Louise Shelley was quoted in a Guardian article on cigarette smuggling in north Africa, where revenue from illicit trade is used to fund Islamist violence, such as Mokhtar Belmokhtar’s attack on the Tiguentourine gas field in Algeria this month.

25 January 2013: Amb. (ret.) Richard Kauzlarich was interviewed for Turan about rioting in Ismayilli. Read the full article here.

24 January 2013: TraCCC’s Senior Advisor and Diplomat in Residence, Ambassador ret.) Kenneth Yalowitz, co-authored the op-ed piece Dealing with Two Russias, which appeared in the New York Times on January 24^th, and The International Herald Tribune on January 25^th.

19 December 2012: Azerbaijani Americans for Democracy (AZAD) held a policy discussion forum entitled “Azerbaijan’s Untapped Potential for the West: Engaging Azerbaijani Society as a US Ally”. TraCCC’s Deputy Director, Ambassador (ret.) Richard Kauzlarich spoke about the importance of developing ties between Azerbaijan and the U.S. by founding those relations on shared values and goals, and about the impediments facing both countries as they do so. See the Azeri Report article for a full video of the forum, which includes Ambassador Kauzlarich’s presentation.

17 December 2012: Professor Audrey Kurth Cronin’s article Thinking Long on Afghanistan: Could it be Neutralized? appeared in The Washington Quarterly’s Winter 2013 issue (36:1, pp. 55-72).

11 December 2012: Turkish newspapers Merhaba Haber, Konya and Sabah published articles on Dr. Shelley’s discussion of crime and terrorism at the symposium in Antalya. The articles focus on the trade in counterfeit drugs, as well as smuggling and human trafficking, as a funding source for groups such as the PKK, IRA and KCK.

(Click on the respective newspaper names above for the full articles in Turkish.)

10 December 2012: Dr. Louise Shelley was quoted in the Turkish newspaper The Star with regard to the links between trafficking and terrorist organizations such as the IRA and PKK. For the full article (in Turkish) click here.

9 December 2012: Dr. Louise Shelley spoke on “Transnational Organized Crime” at the 4^th International Symposium on Terrorism and Organized Crime in Antalya, Turkey. She also met with two alumni from George Mason University’s School of Public Policy, Mahmut Cengiz and Abdulrahman Al-Khalifa, who also attended the symposium.

7 December 2012: Dr. Louise Shelley attended the 4^th International Symposium on Terrorism and Organized Crime, December 7-9, 2012 in Antalya, Turkey. She gave a talk entitled “The Business of Terrorism: Smuggling”. On the same panel, Associate Professor Mahmut Cengiz, a TraCCC alumnus, gave a talk called “A New Trend in Organized Crime: Spying”.

December 2012: Columbia University’s Journal of International Affairs published Dr. Louise Shelley’s article “The Diverse Facilitators of Counterfeiting: A Regional Perspective”, and Ashley Neese Bybee’s article “Transnational Organized Crime: The Twenty-first Century Expansion of the Transnational Drug Trade in Africa”. Both articles appear in Volume 66, No. 1, Fall/Winter 2012 of the journal, which is devoted to transnational organized crime.

15 November 2012: Dr. Louise Shelley received the Distinguished Scholar Award from the International Association for the Study of Organized Crime, while attending the meeting of the American Society of Criminology in Chicago. She is only the second person to receive this award.

14 November 2012: Dr. Louise Shelley attended the World Economic Forum, where she serves on the Global Agenda Council on organized crime. She was recognized for her five years of service on global agenda councils.

9 November 2012: Dr. Louise Shelley spoke at the conference “Abolition, Past and Present: Scholars, Activists and the Challenge of Contemporary Slavery”, at the Gilder Lehrman Center’s Annual Conference. A video of the panel “Defining Slavery” is available in C-SPAN’s video archives, and it includes Dr. Shelley’s presentation.

1 November 2012: Dr. Louise Shelley presented on “Global business of human trafficking” at the Cooley Law Review Symposium and Michigan Abolitionist Project Conference on Corporate Responsibility and Human Trafficking. Janna Lipman, an SPP graduate and co-founder and executive director of Anka Rising, an NGO devoted to corporate social responsibility on human trafficking is speaking as well on prevention/protection.

1 November 2012: Deputy Director, Amb. (ret.) Richard Kauzlarich was quoted in a Washington Post article discussing Iran’s illicit drug trade and the problems it creates in the Caucasus.

26 October: Louise Shelley spoke at the OECD workshop:,”Assessing the harms posed by illicit trade and the illegal economy for global supply chain integrity, economic growth, and market security,” at the OECD Headquarters in Paris, France.

22 October: Dr. Louise Shelley presented on “Corruption, Rule of Law and Fragile States,” at the high level British-American Policy Conference entitled “Crime and Terror Conference,” in London, England.

18 October 2012: Ambassador (ret.) Ken Yalowitz had his article, “The challenge for democracy in Georgia”, published by Democracy and Freedom Watch.

4 October 2012: Dr. Louise Shelley was quoted in the Voice of America article entitled, “Global Trade in Fake Drugs Tops $30 Billion”

21 August 2012: Nazia Hussain, Phd student and Researcher at TraCCC, had her article, “Informal Governance and Role of State in Cities in Developing Countries: Comparing Karachi and Cairo,” published on the Middle East Institute’s website.

1 August 2012: George Mason University’s new president, Angel Cabrera, came to visit TraCCC and met with Dr. Louise Shelley.

10 July 2012: Dr. Louise Shelley was quoted in the article, “Russia’s Drug Czar Blames Beatles for Drug Problem“, discussing the growing drug addiction trend in Russia.

25 June 2012: Deputy Director, Amb. (ret.) Richard Kauzlarich the the moderator for the DC Chapter of the Internet Society’s seminar on “Censorship 2020: The Future of Freedom Online.”

June 28-29 2012: Ambassador Kauzlarich participated in Conference at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania on Public Sector Corruption and Private Business Firms. He presented a paper on the TraCCC proposal for executive training on international crime and corruption for the private sector.

20 June 2012: Ambassador (ret) Richard Kauzlarich participated in a World Affairs Council of DC debate at Johns Hopkins SAIS on “Averting Conflict in the Caucasus: Is Russia a Partner or a Spoiler?” with Ambassador (ret) John Evans.

07 June 2012: Dr. Louise Shelley wrote an article entitled “Transnational crime: A challenge for all” in the most recent issue of Electronic Journal USA – Partnerships Against Corruption.

April 2012: Dr. Louise Shelley and Ambassador (ret) Richard Kauzlarich jointly authored an article “Afrique : les options stratégiques pour la France” in issue #4 (Avril-Mai-Juin 2012) of La Nouvelle Revue Geopolitique.

30 March 2012: Former World Vision Fellow, Rebecca Smokowitz had her research, The Child Labor Situation: An Analysis Focusing on Iasi and Vaslui, Romania, published in the Law Enforcement Executive Forum.

29 March 2012: Dr. Louise Shelley moderated the panel, The Business of Trafficking: Data Mining and Following the International Money Trail, at the 2012 Presidential Initiatives Summit in Seattle Washington.

27 March 2012: Dr. Louise Shelley was quoted in the Malaya Business Insight online article titled, “Illicit cigarettes fund terrorism.“

22-23 March 2012: Dr. Louise Shelley delivered a paper titled, “Human Smuggling and Trafficking into Europe: A Comparative Perspective,” at the Conference on the Politics and Policy of Border Security held at the Canadian Embassy in Berlin, Germany and sponsored by the Munk School of Global Affairs and the Migration Policy Institute.

14 March 2012: Dr. Louise Shelley was quoted in hetq online article, “Obama calls ‘Brothers’ Circle’ a National Security Threat…But Who are They?”.

5 March 2012: Dr. Louise Shelley was quoted in The New Yorker magazine article “Disarming Viktor Bout,” by Nicholas Schmidle.

March 2012: TraCCC continues to expand its Routledge series with the new book “Labour Migration, Human Trafficking and Multinational Corporations: The Commodification of Illicit Flows” Edited by Ato Quayson and Antonela Arhin.

21 February 2012: TraCCC hosted Dr. Aleksandr Zelitchenko, Director of the Central Asian Drug Policy Center and Coordinator of the EU Central Asian Drug Action Program in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. He presented on “Current Drug Trends in Central Asia.” Flyer, Presentation, Article: Blaming the Third Force, the role of the narcotics trade in the Osh tragedy (English, Russian),

February 2012: Through a joint project between TraCCC and the World Wildlife Fund, Aleksei Vaisman, of TRAFFIC-WWF Russia and his colleagues, Sergei Matveichuk and Sergei Min’kov of the Zhitkov Research Institute for Hunting and Animal Husbandry, produced a first rate training manual, “The Меrits and Drawbacks of Legal Regulation and the Fight against the Misuse of the Environment and Poaching of Wild Animals,” for use by law enforcement practitioners, scholars and students on the laws that supposedly protect wildlife and the practices used by criminal actors to trap (and often kill) wildlife for nefarious purposes. Russian laws on poaching are scrutinized and suggestions for improvement are made in the first part of the manual. Methods for locating, documenting and investigating poaching crimes are analyzed in the second half.

20 January 2012: TraCCC hosted Major General Muniruzzanam (ret.) of the Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies to discuss “The Security Dimensions of Climate Change.” Flyer, Presentation, National Security and Climate Change Video via LinkTv.

January 2012: TraCCC Phd Candidate, Bilal Wahab, was featured in American, Magazine of American University, in an article entitled, “The Hard Way” where he discusses growing up in Kurdistan and becoming a “Voice for Democracy.”

January 2012: Aleko Kupatadze, an alumnus of the TraCCC Center in Georgia and a speaker at two TraCCC conferences in Washington, DC in 2010 and 2011 has been awarded a prestigious postdoctoral fellowship from the Oxford-Princeton Global Leaders Fellowship Porgramme. Only 3 or 4 individuals worldwide are chosen annually to participate.

13 October 2011: Deputy Director, Amb. (ret.) Richard Kauzlarich was invited to speak at Vanderbilt University’s conference on “Corruption in Mexico, Russia and the United States.” His presentation was focused on “The Role of Public Policy Institutions in Addressing the Challenges of Crime and Corruption. “

7 October 2011: TraCCC hosted Fashihuddin, Founder for the Pakistan Society for Criminology and Chief-in-Editor of the Pakistan Journal of Criminology. He is a senior officer of the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP), the author of Expanding Criminology to Pakistan, and holds a MBBS, LLB and MA in Political Science. Currently, he is the Director General of Human Rights in the Central Police Office of the KPK Province in Pakistan. He has served in many positions with various law-enforcement agencies including the Frontier Constabulary, the Intelligence Bureau, and the Federal Investigation Agency. Event Flyer,Presentation

3 October 2011: Dr. Louise Shelley presented at the OSCE’s Expert Seminar on Leveraging Anti-Money Laundering Regimes to Combat Human Trafficking. Her presentation focused on “The Business of Human Trafficking”

27 July 2011: Dr. Louise Shelley was quoted in article, “Obama’s plan against transnational crime sparks concern, ” where she states “transnational crime will be a defining issue of the 21st century for policymakers…”

26 July 2011: Dr. Louise Shelley was quoted in article, “Agencies unite against transnational crime,” discussing the increase in counterfeit pharmaceuticals and the Obama administration’s new strategy to combat transnational organized crime.

25 July 2011: Dr. Louise Shelley, was quoted in the NY Daily News article entitled, “Obama: Target Transnational Gangs. “

25 July 2011: Richard Kauzlarich, Deputy Director of TraCCC, was interviewed by the Washington Post in the Article entitled, “New U.S. effort targets ‘transnational organized crime’ as threat to national security.”

July 2011: TraCCC PhD student, Andy Guth, has been appointed as an editor of the Corruption Research Network, part of Transparency International. It is a prestigious group of young scholars working worldwide on corruption issues.

June 2011: Dr. Mahmut Cengiz, former Phd student under Dr. Louise Shelley, has published his first book, Turkish Organized Crime: From Local to Global. This book provides a detailed overview of Turkish organized crime groups, examines the emergence and growth of organized crime in Turkey, and shows how these Turkish groups are now counted among the most dominant criminal organizations operating in Europe. The book also shows how organized crime groups operating in Turkey and Turkish criminal organizations in Europe operate globally through extensive criminal networks. Drawing on an impressive body of academic research, including reports, field work, and interviews conducted by the author over the last twelve years in Turkey and Europe, Dr. Cengiz concludes that Turkish organized crime will remain active regionally and globally due to a number of factors. These include Turkey’s geographical location, increasing demand for illicitly traded goods and services, continuing flows of immigrants from developing countries to Turkey, extensive Turkish Diaspora communities, as well as numerous obstacles to effective law enforcement cooperation.

26 May 2011: Dr. Louise Shelley spoke at the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) in Stuttgart, Germany about human trafficking becoming a defining issue of the 21st century. Article.

25 May 2011: Dr. Louise Shelley, William Courtney, and Kenneth Yalowitz were published in the Christian Science Monitor with the article, “ How exposing corrupt regimes can serve US security,” which discusses the fight against foreign corruption and the success of US policy.

11 April 2011: Dr. Louise Shelley was featured in the cover interview of Rortoko to discuss how Human trafficking will remain a defining problem in the 21st century.

5 April 2011: Dr. Louise Shelley gave the introduction and opening remarks for The Global Business Dialogue’s Event, Unwanted Trade: Commerce that Steals Corrupts and Destroys. Listen to the Dr. Shelley’s discussion.

25 March 2011: Hakary Amin, a visiting scholar from Kurdistan, was interviewed by Harvard Political Review to discuss the major causes of sex trafficking in the Middle East.

8 March 2011: TraCCC hosted Professors Alain Bauer and Xavier Raufer, two French Government advisors on crime and terrorism in the conference entitled, “Security Threats: A French Perspective and Response.” They discussed France’s views on current security challenges and the recent government reorganization to address these challenges. Their understanding of France’s long involvement with the Arab world and with Africa provided a unique perspective on international security. Event Program, Panelist Bios, Relevant Publications, Event Write Up

28 February 2011: TraCCC announced the latest edition to the Routledge Book Series. The book entitled, Human Security, Transnational Crime, and Human Trafficking: Asian and Western Perspective, contrasts the experience and perception of transnational crime and human trafficking in Asia with that in the West. Event Program, Purchase this Book, Photos from Book Event

22 February 2011: TraCCC hosted a conference entitled, “The Nature, State and Capacity to Address Illicit Trade in Tajikistan and its Effect on (In)Security in Central Asia.” The two panels discussed Actors and the Stage: The State of Tajikistan Today and Terror and Crime: A Nexus or Just Convergences of Opportunity?. Further information: Event Program, Panelist Biographies, Relevant Publications, Panel Photo, Conference Write Up

10 February 2011: Dr. Louise Shelley was interviewed by Icelandic national broadcasting service in the program Spegillinn (translated: The Mirror). Dr. Shelley’s segment on human trafficking is about halfway in the program in this Podcast.

4 February 2011: Dr. Louise Shelley was an invited to be a keynote speaker at Iceland’s Biannual Gender Equality Forum held in Reykjavik, Iceland. Dr. Shelley’s Speech

31 January 2011: Dr. Louise Shelley was a guest on the Radio Show, Sins of Omission, to discuss her book, “Human Trafficking: A Global Perspective.” Discussion

10-13 November 2010: Dr. Louise Shelley moderated a panel at the 14th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) in Bangkok, Thailand. She also wrote one of the conference articles entitled “Restoring Trust for Peace and Security.”

9 November 2010: Dr. Louise Shelley was quoted in the article, “Countries Cooperate to Confront Crime Rings,” discussing the multilateral and multidimensional strategy that includes even greater international information- and intelligence-sharing and law enforcement cooperation.

14 October 2010: Dr. Louise Shelley was thanked by Journalist, Brian Palmer, for helping with his article, “Godfather vs. Vor: Who would win in a fight?”

20 September 2010: Three former students under Louise Shelley, Joseph Kafchinski, Summer Britford and Elizabeth Fiorentino, were published in the January 2010 Turkish Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Their articles can be found under our publications section of the website.

1 September 2010: Lousie Shelley was interviewed by Voice of America (Cambodia) to discuss her book, Human Trafficking: A Global Perspective. Khmer Interview

29 August 2010: Louise Shelley, director of TraCCC, was quoted in the New York Times article, “An Arms Sales Suspect, Bargaining With Secrets,” discussing the world’s largest arms trafficker, Viktor Bout.

19 August 2010: TraCCC partner Dr. Tatiana Pinkevich, Director of the Center for Social, Political, and Criminological Research at the Stavropol Branch of the Krasnodar MVD University, engaged Russian President Dmitry Medvedvev during a round table discussion on crime and corruption at the Kremlin. Transcripts from the event may be found on the Kremlin and Ministry of Internal Affairs websites. English translation

22 July 2010: TraCCC hosted a conference entitled, “Human Insecurity in West Africa: Irregular and Forced Migration, Drugs, and Arms and Human Trafficking.” The conference addressed many of the major challenges that West Africa faces including irregular/ cladestine migration, forced migration as a result of climate change and conflict, sexual and labor trafficking and the drugs and arms trade. Further information: Event Program, Panelist Biographies, Relevant Publications

14 July 2010: The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe held the hearing “A Decade of The Trafficking in Persons Report,” in which Louise Shelley’s latest book, “Human Trafficking: A Global Perspective” was mentioned in the testimony. Her book can be found on page 17 of The OSCE’s Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Dr. Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, testimony.

3 May 2010: Funded by the Turkish Institute for Security and Democracy, TraCCC hosted a conference entitled, “The Crime-Terror Nexus: Perspectives and Lessons Learned from International Researchers and Practicioners.” The conference presented analysis of terrorist financing and activity, based primarily on data made available from the Turkish National Police on the terrorist organization, PKK (Kurdistan Worker’s Party). Panels addressed diverse forms of terrorist financing and crime networks extending from Central Asia, through the Middle East and to Europe. Participants include high-level international officials and researchers who have studied data on the crime-terror relationship.

18 April 2010: Rector, Vladimir Kurilov, of Far East State University where TraCCC’s International Narcotic LawEnforcement (INL)-funded Vladivostok Center has been housed since 1997, sent Louise Shelley a letter of gratitude for the TraCCC-INL project. Worthy of mention is that Rector Kurilov has never been a paid participant in our project.

25 and 26 February 2010: TraCCC hosted a conference entitled, ” Criminal Networks, Smuggling, and WMD.” The conference addressed the problem of criminal facilitation in WMD proliferation in the United States and abroad. Speakers focused on actual cases and not hypothetical scenarios, and confirmed linkages between crime and terrorist groups were discussed and analyzed. Event Program, Biographies of the Speakers, Relevant Guest Speaker Publications

11 January 2010: Jack Goldstone, affiliated faculty of TraCCC, has been published in the January/February edition of Foreign Affairs Magazine. His article entitled, “The New Population Bomb” discusses a series of looming demographic trends that will greatly affect international security in the twenty-first century. How policymakers adjust to these changes now will determine the course of global political and economic stability for years to come.

11 January 2010: The article entitled, “January – The Month of Fighting Slavery and Human Trafficking,” (transliteration is: Yanvar’ – mesyats bor’by s rabstvom i torgovlei liud’mi) was published discussing President Obama’s declaration of January as the month of fighting slavery and combating human trafficking, which will culminate in the 1 of February “Freedom Day”. The article also draws attention to Obama’s attention to the issue of human trafficking through the leadership of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the U.S. Department of State, and the increased vulnerability of people to human trafficking due to the current global financial crisis. Director Louise Shelley was interviewed in the article and discusses her forthcoming book about human trafficking.

6 January 2010: NBR Special Report (December 2009),Ehsan Ahrari, Vanda Felbab-Brown and TraCCC Director Louise I. Shelley with TraCCC student, Nazia Hussain, assess the global and regional dynamics of narcotics production and trafficking in Afghanistan and Pakistan and the implications for counterinsurgency efforts in the region. The article is entitled, ” Narco-Jihad: Drug Trafficking and Security in Afghanistan and Pakistan.”

6 January 2010: affiliated faculty member, Janine Wedel, has had her book, Shadow Elite: How the World’s New Power Brokers Undermine Democracy, Government, and the Free Market, selected as the first HuffPost Book Club selection for 2010. This book exposes and explains why it’s been so hard to bring about any real change in our country – why Washington no longer seems capable of addressing the problems our nation faces.

17 December 2009: Louise Shelley along with TraCCC’s Open World Program delegates, Marina Zakharova (Astrakhan), Maruf Khodzhiev (Kazan) and Veronika Ischenko (Rostov-on-Don), were interviewed in the article “A Fight is Declared against Slavery” (Article is in Russian).

12 December 2009: Louise Shelley was quoted in the Connecticut article, “Drug Cash Eludes Feds War” which discusses the currect Drug Cartel situation in Tijuana, Mexico.

13 November 2009: TraCCC was mentioned in the Voice of America article “Why Corruption Continues to Grow in Russia” which involves that corruption case involving Militia Major Alexei Dymovski. The article is in Russian.

21 October 2009: Louise Shelley appeared on CNN Prime Time discussing Russian crime organizations. The story is entitled “FBI: Mobster more powerful than Gotti”

21 October 2009: TraCCC had its third conference this year entitled” Drug Flows Out of Afghanistan and Pakistan” consisting of 2 panels: The Drug Situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan; and Drugs Flows, Illicit Trade and Corruption as a Facilitating Factor along the Routes out of Afghanistan. Here are the Biographies of the Speakers, Relevant Publications, and Speaker Mahmut Cengiz Power Point Presentation.

14 October 2009: Louise Shelley was mentioned by the George Mason University’s President, Alan Merten, in his Fall 2009 Convocation Speech. She can be found on page 12.

10 September 2009: TraCCC release its very first Newsletter. The newsletter contains information about TraCCC students and Scholars, the Open World Program, Upcoming Events, what the Russian Centers are doing right now and much more.

10 September 2009: TraCCC hosted the conference, “US Policy on Transnational Crime” which consisted of 4 panels discussing Drug Trafficking, Mexico, and US Policy, Human Smuggling and Trafficking, Why Countering Counterfeiting and Diversion Deserve More Policy Attention, and Countering Transnational Crime

19 August 2009: TraCCC hosted “An Anti-Corruption Exchange” with a small group of officials from Southern Sudan tasked by GOSS with the establishment of southern Sudan’s first anti-corruption body and legislative framework. Minutes from the Exchange

17 August 2009: George Mason University wrote article, “Professor Works to Eradicate Modern Slave Trade” discussing human trafficking in the United States and what Dr. Louise Shelley recommends to be done.

July 2009: Security Management Online posted article, “Sleuthing Nuclear Smuggling,” mentioning Dr. Louise Shelley along with other panelists from the April 16th Conference, “What Is Needed?: The Way Ahead for WMD Policy“

23 July 2009: the Washington Post printed the article “Official’s Arrest in Russia Linked to GMU Research” which discussed the arrest of Alexander Astafyev, senior anti-corruption investigator at the Vladivostok Center in Russia. The Finnish-Russian Civic Forum also discusses the arrest. A.D. Summary Report, “The Role of Russian Internal Affairs Agencies”

29 June, 2009: Dr. Louise Shelley was quoted in the Public Integrity article titled, Tobacco, Terrorism, and Illicit Trade, which discusses the undermining of cigarette smuggling worldwide by law enforcement.

20 May, 2009: Dr. Louise Shelley was interviewed by Voice of America to discuss TraCCC’s work with the Open World Program, and the need for Russia and the United States to work together against transnational crime and illegal migration. This article is in RUSSIAN.

4 May, 2009: TraCCC hosted a major policy talk with Mr. David Luna, Director for the Anti-Crime Programs at the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) Affairs in the US Department of State. The talk was largely focused on thematic threat convergence issues and the United States’ recent diplomatic efforts to combat transnational threats and dismantling threat networks. His statement can be found here

16 April,2009: TraCCC hosted an event,”What Is Needed?: The Way Ahead for WMD Policy” at the School of Public Policy. This Weapons of Mass Destruction Conference discussing the theoretical and operational frameworks of the policy domestically and abroad, and what is needed for the future. The Conference Report can be found here

March, 2009: TraCCC Director Dr. Louise Schelley appeared in the The Center for Infrastructure Proction (CIP) Report, published by GMU’s Law School. The article is titled Winners and Losers of the Current Crisis.

16 March, 2009: TraCCC Director Dr. Louise Shelley appeared in the School of Public Policy Monthly Newletter, Currents, to discuss her up and coming book, Human Trafficking: A Global Perspective, along with her concerns with the growing epidemic.

16 December 2008: TraCCC Director Dr. Louise Shelley appeared on television station WUSA9 to discuss the likely rise in sex trafficking in the Washington, DC area during the inauguration celebrations in January 2009. A transcript of the televised piece is available here.

12 December 2008: TraCCC Director Dr. Louise Shelley was quoted on page 5 in a Men’s Journal article on attempts to keep notorious illegal arms dealer Viktor Bout behind bars. The article is accessible here.

5 November 2008: TraCCC Director Dr. Louise Shelley was interviewed by Washington Profile on the characteristics, scale and scope of Russian organized crime. The interview is available in English and Russian.

10 October 2008: TraCCC Director Dr. Louise Shelley was quoted in a Media Global article entitled Corruption Slows Iraqi Progress: UN Agencies Join the Anti-Corruption Battle.

30 September 2008: TraCCC Director Dr. Louise Shelley was the featured expert for a moneylaundering.com article entitled Human Trafficking, the Second Largest Crime in the World, is Aided by Laundering, Says Anti-Corruption Expert.

12 August 2008: TraCCC Director Dr. Louise Shelley was interviewed by Irina Lagunina of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Russian service, Svoboda News, concerning the escalating conflict between the Republic of Georgia and the Russian Federation over South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

11 July 2008: Dr. Shelley was quoted in a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on-line article entitled Experts Say Human Trafficking a Major Problem in U.S., which detailed a conference in which Dr. Shelley participated as a featured panelist.

April 2008: Dr. Shelley was quoted in a French-language article in the magazine Private Banking. The artice, entitled Le doute a retardement, examines Russian wealth and Russian organized crime.

13 March 2008: Dr. Shelley was quoted in an Economist article entitled Suited and Booted about notorious arms trader Viktor Bout’s arrest in Thailand.

15 February 2008: Interview with TraCCC Founder and Director Dr. Louise Shelley in the George Mason University Gazette.

17 December 2007: CNN International Interview with Dr. Shelley about the verdict on a domestic human trafficking case in New York.

2 August 2006: Voice of America article on corruption, entitled Experts Say Corruption Hinders Global Economic Development, features statements by Dr. Shelley on the effects of corruption on countries with economies of various sizes.

February 2006: U.S. Department of State E-Journal article by Dr. Shelley entitled The Globalization of Crime and Terror.

12 December 2005: video stream of Kennan Institute Discussion on The Links Between Organized Crime and Terrorism in Eurasian Nuclear Smuggling by Dr. Louise Shelley, TraCCC Founder and Director, and former TraCCC Senior Researcher Dr. Robert Orttung (discussion at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars in Washington, DC)

30 November 2003: Op-Ed in The Washington Post by Dr. Shelley and former TraCCC Georgia Program Director Erik Scott entitled Georgia’s ‘Revolution of Roses’ Can Be Transplanted.

7 April 2002: New York Times article entitled The War on Terrorism Takes Aim at Crime features comments by Dr. Shelley on the links between criminal organizations and terrorist groups.

Counterterrorism at Crossroads: Schar School Summit Explores Evolving Threats

Iran’s Strategic Posturing and Global Retaliation: Implications of the U.S. Strikes on Tehran’s Nuclear Program

When Civilizational Models Collide

A Comparative Analysis of the Impact and Use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) by Terrorist Groups

Evaluating Terrorist Designations: Insights from Jihadist and Iran-Backed Groups and Implications for Cartels

From Cartels to Cyberattacks: George Mason Hosts High-Level Terrorism Strategy Forum

An Unwinnable Drug War

The Dangerous Narrative of the “War on Cartels”

Cartels Are Not ‘Foreign Terrorist Organizations,’ but Terror in Mexico Is Real

The Onion of Kensington

Strategic Lethality: Trends in the Use of Explosives by Terrorist Organizations