Sanctions on organized crime: Analyzing evolution and processes

Over the last 20 years, the transnational organized crime groups have surged, posing a substantial threat to many of the states in which they operate.

The international community is devoting increasing resources to counter organized crime, with targeted sanctions emerging as part of this expanding toolkit.

Sanctions against criminals, broadly involving asset freezes and/or travel prohibitions, are not new, having been used by the US since the 1990s. Their use has, however, become increasingly common since the mid-2000s, both by states and multilateral entities, including the UN and the EU, to mitigate specific risks related to organized crime.

However, the rational driving targeted sanctions usage against criminals and the processes for designation differ substantially between these different jurisdictions.

In this webinar moderated by Ana Paula Oliveira, Matt Herbert and Lucia Bird Ruiz-Benitez De Lugo will outline the evolution of sanctions regimes against organized crime and discuss the processes used by key jurisdictions to designate criminal actors. The information will draw on findings from their report ‘Convergence Zone: The Evolution of Targeted Sanctions Usage Against Transnational Organized Crime.’

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This is the first webinar of a series that will explore the growing evolution and impact of sanctions against criminal actors, drawing from a focused research initiative within the Global Initiative. Click here to access more information on the webinar series.