Jan 29 2008 Saibal Dasgupta in Beijing
An Interpol conference in Singapore has revealed how little countries have coordinated in the fight against organised crime since its general secretariat launched the "Asian organised crime project." The aim of the project was to target the illegal activities of the Asian organised crime groups worldwide in 2006.
Network that office!
One of the project's objectives was "to network global law enforcement offices involved in the fight against Asian organised crime, to exchange information and share experience and best practices in investigating Asian organised crime and to foster joint tactical operations between member countries on [meaning 'against'] Asian organised crime".
The two-day conference hosted by the Singapore Police Force on January 23-24 attracted 200 crime-fighting specialists from 32 countries. The SPF said that they were there to discuss "a range of issues including casino operations, money laundering, drug and human trafficking, and the characteristics of different organized crime groups across Asia."
At the conference, both Ronald Noble, Interpol's secretary general, and Khoo Boon Hui, the commissioner of the SPF, had little to say about money laundering and much to say about people who gambled illegally. A senior police official who attended the conference said that Asian organised crime project and Interpol had chosen this area because it was "less controversial" than money laundering. He went on to say that this was a good first step towards the goal of a "co-ordinated network" of law enforcers all over the world.
Mutual suspicion
Interpol has been having serious problems persuading national police forces in Asia to work together. The official told delegates that this was due to mutual suspicion and distrust on a number of issues. He thought that the involvement of politicians in crime was another factor that made many police units reluctant to share information and co-operate in investigations and prosecutions. Few Asian countries have judiciaries or law enforcement organisations that are independent of corrupt government ministers.
Noble made it clear that "illegal soccer (slang for "association football") gambling" – usually controlled by criminal syndicates – was an important predicate crime for money laundering in Asia, grossing several hundred millions of dollars every year. He said that the Hong Kong police had seized cash and betting slips to do with this activity to the value of $10m between 2003 and 2005.
