In This Story
Contributors to a global initiative identifying and analyzing key regions of illicit trade will be in the audience during a discussion about a book produced last year by researchers at the Schar School of Policy and Government’s Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC) at George Mason University.
Editors and authors of Hubs of Illicit Trade in the Global Economy will take the stage at Mason Square in Arlington, Virginia, on Wednesday, February 19, from noon until 2 p.m. to discuss how centers of illicit trade pose myriad threats to global security and sustainable development—and what can possibly be done to combat the dangers they present.
The book talk is free and open to the public but reservations are required at this website. Lunch will be provided.
The book about the hubs of illicit trade—shortened to HIT—is the result of a dedicated team of researchers from around the world. The study identifies four key regions—South America (the Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay tri-border area), Central America (Panama, Guatemala, and Belize), the Middle East (Dubai), and Eastern Europe (Ukraine)—as focal points of illicit trade. These areas share conditions that enable criminal activity—including weak regulatory oversight—and serve as crossroads for various forms of illicit activity such as corruption, money laundering, and security threats. These factors facilitate the flow of illegal goods and contraband into Europe, the United States, and beyond.
“Hundreds of billions of dollars of profits from these illicit trades are reinvested into other criminal activities, compounding the harms that they do to individuals, countries, and our planet,” said Judith Deane, deputy director of TraCCC, who will speak at the event. “Gaining a better understanding of how these hubs operate is a necessary first step to finding ways to shut them down.”
Among the Schar School representatives who will address the audience on February 19 are TraCCC founding director Louise Shelley; former U.S. diplomat David M. Luna, codirector of TraCCC’s Anti-Illicit Trade Institute (AITI); and postdoctoral researcher Yulia Krylova, who edited the book.