{
  "id": "98-907",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "98-907",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 105270,
      "date": "1998-10-30",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:50:08.374941",
      "title": "International Crime: Russian Organized Crime's Role and U.S. Interests",
      "summary": "International crime has become a major problem throughout the world. Transnational criminal\norganizations have benefitted from the global economy, as well as the break-up of the Soviet empire\nand birth of fragile new democracies, vulnerable to criminal exploitation. Russian criminal groups\nhave become increasingly active in Europe and North America, sometimes working with foreign\ncrime groups. They have engaged in money laundering and trafficking in arms, illegal goods, and\npeople. \n  A growing share of organized crime in the United States has foreign roots, including Russian\nones. Besides its direct costs to the United States, Russian crime threatens larger U.S. interests. \nFirst among these is the successful democratic and market transformation of Russia and Eastern\nEurope. Crime and corruption have undermined public support for democracy and the market\neconomy and played a role in the current Russian political and economic crisis. Russian criminals may\nbe fueling regional tensions and strengthening \"rogue\" regimes\" with arms and other sanction\nbreaking trade. There is concern that they could seriously endanger international non-proliferation\nefforts, if they get access to weapons of mass destruction for sale abroad. \n  Governments and international bodies are struggling to keep pace with what is now recognized\nas a global security threat. The State Department and FBI have been given the lead U.S. role abroad\nin the fight against international crime. The United States now has a permanent crime fighting\npresence in some 34 countries, including Russia, for purposes of investigation, training, and other\ncooperation. The United States has worked closely with Russia, and international organizations to\ncurb Russian international criminal activities.\n  In May 1998, the President announced a new International Crime Control Strategy. Experts\nagree that further steps may be needed to fight transnational crime, including better intelligence and\nlaw enforcement cooperation. Some experts advocate more crime fighting assistance and training to\nRussia, multinational task forces to fight crime across borders, and a more offensive and even\npreemptive approach to fighting transnational crime. Effective cooperation is hampered by the fact\nthat most countries and jurisdictions are still reluctant to cede authority to outside or multinational\norganizations. \n  The U.S. Congress has demonstrated concern over trends in Russian and other international\ncrime and supported assistance to Russia, the former Soviet Union, and Eastern Europe in the law\nenforcement area. The Administration's proposed International Crime Control Act of 1998\n(  S. 2303  ), a package of measures to enhance the U.S. ability to fight\ninternational\ncrime, was introduced in the Senate on June 14, 1998, by Senator Patrick Leahy but not acted upon\nby the 105th Congress.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/98-907",
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          "images": null
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      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "Intelligence and National Security",
    "National Defense"
  ]
}