For Immediate Release
April 23, 2008
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Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office
(202) 324-3691
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Department of Justice Launches New Law Enforcement Strategy to Combat Increasing Threat of International Organized Crime
Today, Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey announced
a new strategy in the fight against international organized
crime that will address this growing threat to U.S. security
and stability. The Law Enforcement Strategy to Combat
International Organized Crime (the strategy) was developed
following an October 2007 International Organized Crime
Threat Assessment (IOC Threat Assessment) and will address
the demand for a strategic, targeted, and concerted U.S.
response to combat the identified threats. This strategy
builds on the broad foundation the Administration has developed
in recent years to enhance information sharing, and to
secure U.S. borders and financial systems from a variety
of transnational threats.
Today's announcement by the Attorney General was made
during a forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International
Studies with Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General
for the Criminal Division Alice S. Fisher, Federal Bureau
of Investigation (FBI) Deputy Director John S. Pistole
and Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary
for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Julie Myers.
International organized crime is defined as those self-perpetuating
associations of individuals who operate internationally
for the purpose of obtaining power, influence, monetary,
and commercial gains, wholly or in part by illegal means,
while protecting their activities through a pattern of
corruption and violence. International organized criminals
operate in hierarchies, clans, networks, and cells. The
crimes they commit vary as widely as the organizational
structures they employ.
The strategy
establishes an investigation and prosecution framework
as committed and connected as the international organized
crime structure it must combat. U.S. federal law enforcement
agencies, in an unprecedented cooperative effort on this
issue, will share international organized crime information
and intelligence, collectively identify and prioritize
the most significant threats, and then put the full force
of U.S. law enforcement’s expertise and resources
toward mitigating those threats. In addition, U.S. law
enforcement will increase cooperation with international
partners to bring international criminals to justice,
in the United States and abroad.
The strategy specifically reacts to the globalization
of legal and illegal business; advances in technology,
particularly the Internet; and the evolution of symbiotic
relationships between criminals, public officials, and
business leaders that have combined to create a new, less
restrictive environment within which international organized
criminals can operate. Without the necessity of a physical
presence, U.S. law enforcement must combat international
organized criminals that target the relative wealth of
the people and institutions in the United States while
remaining outside the country.
“As international organized criminals have adapted
their tactics over time and embraced emerging technology,
we too must adapt,” said Attorney General Michael
B. Mukasey. “With this strategy, we're building a
new, 21st century program that we believe will be nimble
enough to fight the threat of international organized crime
for years to come.”
“International organized criminals have broadened
the scope and depth of their illegal activities, reaching
into a variety of sectors to sustain their inherent quest
for money and power. These modern-day criminals threaten
our physical, economic and national security, indeed, in
many circumstances without even setting foot inside U.S.
borders,” said Assistant Attorney General Alice S.
Fisher. “With this strategy, international organized
criminals will be targeted and prosecuted in the same determined
and concerted manner in which they pursue their illegal
activities.”
Laid out in the strategy is a comprehensive and detailed
plan that will enable the Department of Justice and nine
federal law enforcement agencies to gather their collective
resources to most effectively combat the threat of international
organized crime. Ultimately, the strategy aims to create
consensus among domestic law enforcement in identifying
the most significant priority targets and then unified
and concerted action among domestic and international law
enforcement in significantly disrupting and dismantling
those targets. This unprecedented coordination will include
utilizing all available U.S. government programs and capabilities,
including existing economic, consular, and other non-law
enforcement means.
In addition, as a response to international organized
criminals’ ability to operate unconstrained by national
borders and geographic law enforcement jurisdictions, the
strategy aims to ensure criminal laws and operating procedures
reflect the modern realities and needs of international
crime fighting. Similarly vital is the need to work in
collaboration with public and private institutions that
also face victimization by international organized criminals
and therefore have been forced to act to minimize the impact
on their businesses.
Prior to the strategy’s development, the Department
of Justice and law enforcement partners conducted a comprehensive
assessment of international organized crime.The
IOC Threat Assessment lays out the threat international
organized crime poses to U.S. national security, the stability
of the U.S. economy, and the integrity of government institutions,
infrastructure and systems in the United States. The assessment
is based on the best available information known to the
U.S. government through the combined efforts of the law
enforcement, intelligence, and interagency communities.
Specifically, the IOC Threat Assessment identifies and
defines eight strategic threats:
- International organized criminals have penetrated
the energy market and other strategic sectors of the
U.S. and world economy. As U.S. energy needs continue
to grow, so too could the power of those who control
energy resources.
- International organized criminals provide logistical
and other support to terrorists, foreign intelligence
services, and foreign governments, all with interests
acutely adverse to those of U.S. national security.
- International organized criminals traffic in people
and contraband goods, bringing people and products through
U.S. borders to the detriment of border security, the
U.S. economy, and the health and lives of those human
beings exploited by human trafficking.
- International organized criminals exploit the U.S.
and international financial system to move illegal profits
and funds, including sending billions of dollars in illicit
funds through the U.S. financial system annually. To
continue this practice, they seek to corrupt financial
service providers globally.
- International organized criminals use cyberspace to
target U.S. victims and infrastructure, jeopardizing
the security of personal information, the stability of
business and government infrastructures, and the security
and solvency of financial investment markets.
- International organized criminals are manipulating
securities exchanges and engaging in sophisticated fraud
schemes that rob U.S. investors, consumers, and government
agencies of billions of dollars.
- International organized criminals have successfully
corrupted public officials around the world, including
in countries of vital strategic importance to the
United States, and continue to seek ways to influence—legally
or illegally—U.S. officials.
- International organized criminals use violence and
the threat of violence as a basis of power.
“The activities of transnational and national organized
criminal enterprises are increasing in scope and magnitude
as these groups continue to strengthen their networking
with each other to expand their operations,” said
FBI Deputy Director John S. Pistole. “By increasing
international cooperation and information sharing, together
we can disrupt and dismantle these global, sophisticated
organizations that have exploited geopolitical, economic,
social, and technological changes over the last two decades
to become increasingly active worldwide.”
“Partnerships among law enforcement agencies are
our most effective weapon in combating international criminal
networks,” said Julie L. Myers, Assistant Secretary
of Homeland Security for ICE. “These criminal organizations
pursue profit, without regard for national boundaries,
international laws or human life.”
On April 7, 2008, the Organized Crime Council, chaired
by Deputy Attorney General Mark R. Filip, recommended,
and the Attorney General signed The Law Enforcement
Strategy to Combat International Organized Crime.
The Attorney General has been in charge of coordinating
all federal law enforcement activity against organized
crime since a 1968 executive order by President Lyndon
Johnson established that authority.
Similarly, the Organized Crime Council
has existed in various forms since 1970 and has always
been charged with establishing priorities and formulating
a national unified strategy to combat organized crime. This
is the first time the Organized Crime Council has ever
convened to focus on the threat from international organized
crime and to develop a responsive strategy to that threat.
The Organized Crime Council consists of the Deputy Attorney
General, the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal
Division, the Chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory
Committee and the leaders of nine participating federal
law enforcement agencies, which include: Federal Bureau
of Investigation; U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency; Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement; U.S. Secret Service; Internal
Revenue Service; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Diplomatic
Security; and U.S. Department of Labor’s Office
of the Inspector General.
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