Organised crime and business

This chapter considers the relationship between organised crime and business, with particular reference to the UK, and within that Scotland. Organised crime is considered as a ‘wicked problem’, which requires honest appraisal of the limitations of tackling it, recognising that it is a part of human sociology that will always be with us. The reality of ‘tackling’ it in most jurisdictions is essentially one of accommodating it so that its worst excesses are contained and opportunities to punish and convict are taken as they arise. The business of organised crime is diverse, but in raw economic terms it continues to be dominated by the international illicit drugs trade and the huge financial waves it engenders, both in terms of money laundering and the mostly unsuccessful attempts to combat and control it through regulation and legislation. This chapter considers how to respond to modern criminal revenue management and the effects of its deployment in licit contexts - in particular with a view to determining where research resources might be best applied in order to deepen understanding and help formulate responses which would better protect markets and communities from harm, or at least additional harm. Itconsiders how difficulties with the practical application of the UK’s ‘strong and enabling’ money laundering legislation, to ‘high-end’ laundering in particular, often reflects an incomplete understanding of criminal business systems. The Scottish experience in particular is explored to consider what the key issues are and what approaches might be adopted to forge more effective responses.’