Since antiquity, the Black Sea Region (BSR) has united its lit toral states and served as a cross roads. It forms an invaluable cultural, political and economic sea triangle connecting the nations of the West, Greater Middle East and Eurasia. The dissolution of the Soviet Union and the enlargement processes of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union connect the West to the BSR in an unprecedented manner.
This article presents the Newly Independent States in the Black Sea Region (NISBSR) as a security complex and new front for combating threats to international security caused by corruption and transnational crime.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Empire, states in the BSR inherited a political criminal nexus and a common legacy of a lack of respect for the rule of law, absence of civil society, a large criminal underworld and shadow economy, endemic corruption and a demoralized law enforcement and legal apparatus, satisfying the preconditions for the development of a serious and sophisticated organized crime problem.
Whereas some states have successfully entered the Euro-Atlantic integration process, Moscow’s influence on the strategic territories of its former empire must not be underestimated. Parts of the former Soviet nomenklatura have been linked to separatism and transnational crime in the BSR. The effects of human trafficking, contraband product trade and illegal arms trade have an international butterfly effect on human, economic, territorial and financial security.
Today, the Black Sea’s shores host separatist conflicts referred to as “criminal black holes.” Moscow may not have only backed breakaway territories in Moldova (Trans-Dniester) and Georgia (Abkhazia and South Ossetia); some claim these separatist sentiments are orchestrated and maintained by Moscow’s policies.
Moscow’s role in Azerbaijan and Armenia (Nagorno-Karabakh) and separatism in Ukraine (Sevastopol, Crimea) should also be considered. The criminalization and corruption of the NISBSR impede the state’s de facto control over its territory and population.
Russia’s armed forces and political-economic companies like [Russia’s state gas monopoly – Ed. Note] Gazprom increase its power in the NISBSR to the detriment of democratic security. To understand separatism in the NISBSR, the symbiotic relationship between transnational organized crime and Russia’s geopolitical interests must be considered.
Gazprom’s character is not only illustrated by its consideration to supply illegitimate Trans-Dniester with gas supplies separately from Moldova. Western law enforcement and intelligence agencies have suspected relations between Gazprom, Russian security services and companies linked to [Ukrainian-born – Ed. note] Semyon Mogilevich, [an alleged mobster wanted by the FBI on money-laundering and racketeering charges – Ed. note].
A [Ukrainian State Security Service – Ed. Note] SBU spokesperson stated: “The probe is part of a broader investigation into suspected money-laundering, smuggling and tax evasion stemming from the Turkmen gas trade.”
The US Justice Department identified Mogilevich as the leader of over 300 criminals, operating in more than 30 countries, involved in murder, extortion, trafficking in women for prostitution, smuggling, money-laundering, and bank and securities fraud and, in numerous countries, the corruption of public officials.
Regional governmental organizations and experts acknowledge the need for a common approach to transnational organized crime.In 1995, the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) identified transnational crime as a serious threat to the region’s economic stability and security.
The 2002 Agreement among the Governments of the BSEC Participating States on Cooperation in Combating Crime, particularly in its organized forms, targets specific crimes to be prevented, suppressed, detected, disclosed and investigated in cooperation.
In 2005, the Community of Democratic Choice followed suit. Itidentified the need “…to address the threats to the democratic development of society, which are – among others – corruption, organized crime, money-laundering, terrorism in its different forms, the existence of remaining conflicts in Europe and illicit trafficking in drugs, arms and human beings.”
In May 2006, heads of state at the GUAM [Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova Organization for Democracy and Economic Development – Ed. Note] Summit paid special attention to the challenges and threats of aggressive separatism and transnational organized crime in their region.
Unresolved conflicts and the illegal presence of foreign troops and armaments in GUAM States were recognized as main obstacles to full-scale democratic transformations and economic development in the region.
Security problems related to transnational crime in the BSR are specific in character. Lacking political will, however, it is unlikely they will succeed in nipping organized crime in the bud and punishing the state and non-state actors involved.
Transnational organized crime, combined with remnants of communist and Soviet networks, can be manipulated to advance the geopolitical motives of third states. Frozen conflicts and breakaway territories promote organized criminal activity and impede democratic development.
One may argue that organized crime is as old as humankind, and what time does not resolve is not a problem. However, for the rule of law and democratic development in the Black Sea Region, it is.
Lada L. Roslycky LL.M. is an independent consultant and PhD Researcher at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.
