Africa and the Global Illicit Economy

Underworlds with Mark Shaw is returning for another season. Mark sits down with authors to discuss their investigations into the murky world of organized crime. In season two, we hear about a range of stories such as money laundering and cryptocurrency; the 'Ndrangheta's expansion from Calabria, Italy to other countries of Europe. Also the story of a leading South African police officer, who was tasked with investigating the Italian mafia in South Africa by Nelson Mandela. A fascinating story about one of the largest frauds in the history of the maritime industry. The growth and evolution of ransomware market, and finally a history of modern Russia told through the stories of four very different criminals. The series is hosted by Mark Shaw, the Director of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. Mark is also an author of a number of books on organized crime in South Africa. ==================================================== 📱 Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@UCP-lqJdhM-9iDKkswuVcXZA 🌎 VISIT US! Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime - https://globalinitiative.net/ 🎧WHY NOT TRY OUR OTHER PODCASTS: 🎧Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0spSX0QUq7j0NmIZOqyDTZQ 🎧The Index - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0uc_4CftGl8PrwHA3IK5WeI =================================================== FOLLOW US X - @gitoc LinkedIn - @Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime IG - @gi_toc ===================================================

Welcome to Underworlds with Mark Shaw. Organized Crime is everywhere, hidden in plain sight. The stories from this world have been mythologised by Hollywood. But the reality can be even stranger and more exciting than fiction. From the golden age of the American mafia (La Cosa Nostra), to the modern-day cocaine empires, and from the shadowy links between organized crime and terrorism, to the twilight of the Yakuza. In this series Mark Shaw, the Director of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime delves into non-fiction books about organized crime and the illicit economy with the authors themselves. He asks questions about their background and investigations, but also the challenges associated in writing about this murky world.

Organized crime in South Africa threatens the economy, its people and the democratic institutions themselves. Every day we see a number of different and seemingly unconnected criminal incidents taking place - from assassinations to gang rapes in an illegal mining community; and from the violence of the taxi industry to organized cooper theft. But what lies behind all of these actions is a dark web, a criminal ecosystem driven by an increasingly violent South African underworld. In this episode Steph Musho [https://twitter.com/steffmusho] talks to Julian Rademeyer [https://twitter.com/julianrademeyer?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor], the Director of the East and Southern African Observatory at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime [https://globalinitiative.net/] about a new and substantial report called 'Assessing South Africa's organized crime risk [https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/assessing-south-africa-organized-crime-risk/]'.

The Cape Flats in South Africa is made up of 20 suburbs make up the Cape Flats; populated predominantly by black and coloured communities, a term used to describe those of mixed-heritage. Each suburb is marked by poverty, crime, drug abuse, gangsterism and violence. In this, Lindy Mtongana's final episode, she looks at the Grassy Park where a slew of recent killings has exposed the devastating consequences of territorial battles among the Cape’s most dangerous gangs. Presenter: Lindy Mtongana [https://twitter.com/lindymtongana?lang=en] Guests: Julia Stanyard [https://twitter.com/juliastanyard], Senior Analyst, Observatory for East and Southern Africa, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. [https://globalinitiative.net/profile/julia-stanyard/] Lyndsay Connelly, a community organiser in Grassy Park. Additional Links: Civil Society Observatory of Illicit Economies in Eastern and Southern Africa - Risk Bulletin - Issue 25 [https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/esaobs-risk-bulletin-25/] The Global Organized Crime Index - South Africa [https://ocindex.net/country/south_africa] Global Assassination Monitor [https://assassination.globalinitiative.net/monitor] Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime [https://globalinitiative.net/]

In this episode Lindy delves into the murky world of political assassinations in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Where, according to the GI-TOC's assassination monitor data, for three of the last six years, political assassinations were higher than all other South African provinces combined. Presenter: Lindy Mtongana [https://twitter.com/lindymtongana?lang=en] Speaker(s): Greg Arde [https://twitter.com/gregarde], Journalist and Author of War Party: How the ANC’s political killings are breaking South Africa [https://www.amazon.co.uk/War-Party-political-killings-breaking-ebook/dp/B08BCSV2QT] Chwayita Thobela, Analyst, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime [https://globalinitiative.net/profile/chwayita-thobela/] Thapelo Mohale, a shack dweller, and the secretary general of Abahlali baseMjondolo. [https://abahlali.org/] Additional Reading: Eastern and Southern Africa Observatory - Risk Bulletin [https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/esaobs-risk-bulletin-25/] The rule of the gun: Hits and assassinations in South Africa, 2000-2017 [https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/the-rule-of-the-gun-hits-and-assassinations-in-south-africa-2000-2017/] Give Us More Guns: How South Africa’s gangs were armed [https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/give-us-more-guns-south-africas-gangs/] Gun licenses for sale: South Africa's failing firearms control [https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/south-africas-firearms-control/] Murder by Contract: Targeted killings in eastern and southern Africa [https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/targeted-killings-eastern-southern-africa/] The Global Organized Crime Index - South Africa Profile [https://ocindex.net/country/south_africa] Global Assassination Monitor [https://assassination.globalinitiative.net/monitor] Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime [https://globalinitiative.net/]