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跨国犯罪活动的控制
随着人员、货物和资本自由移动到世界各地，全球化出现了。技术和通讯的改善，改变了这个世界从而变得更加全球化。这个全球化为有组织的犯罪集团和高度精密的成员实施全球非法活动创造了机会，并支持跨国犯罪活动。本文将讨论如何控制跨国犯罪活动，例如洗钱，非法贸易和腐败。将对经济发展和绩效的影响进行说明。最后，文章将研究印尼在控制其腐败方面做的努力。
1.跨国犯罪活动说明
跨国犯罪活动是发生犯罪活动的全球化，如贪污，洗钱，非法贸易等。这些活动被定义为“在一段时间存在三个或三个以上的人所组成的跨国犯罪网络的支持，其成员采取一致行动，针对严重犯罪活动，以获得直接或间接的金钱或其他物质利益“（打击跨国有组织犯罪，2000年，第2A联合国海洋法公约）。
The control of transnational criminal activities
Introduction
Globalization has emerged with people, goods, and capital to move freely around the world. Improvements in technology and communication have changed the world to become more global. This globalization has created opportunities for organized criminal syndicates and members of highly sophisticated to implement illegal activities in the world and support the transnational criminal activities. This paper will discuss about ways to control transnational criminal activities such as money laundering, illicit trade, and corruption. There will be an explanation about the impact of the corruption especially for development and economic performance. Lastly, there will be a country study of Indonesia in controlling its corruption.
The Control Of Transnational Criminal Activities And The Impact Of Corruption On Development And Economic Performance
1. The Description Of Transnational Criminal Activities
Transnational crime activities are activities occurred from the globalization of criminal activity such as corruption, money laundering, illicit trade and many others. Those activities are supported by transnational criminal network which is defined as “a structured group of three or more persons that exists over a period of time, the members of which act in concert aiming at the commission of serious crimes in order to obtain a direct or indirect financial or other material benefit” (United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, 2000, Art. 2a). Transnational crime has become a global problem and convincing United Nations to announce transnational crime as its highest priority and declare it as one of the major challenge in the world throughout 21st century.
Looking back to the history the organized crime took part traditionally in illegal activities such as illegal gambling, prostitution, loan- sharking and drug trafficking by controlling specific territories. Nowadays, the organized crimes are not limited only for specific territories but have widened their activities in corruption, bank fraud, illicit trade, environmental crime, migrant smuggling and many others. Transnational criminal syndicates have been working globally in any country where there are bureaucratic or legal loopholes that allow them to take advantage from the system. Transnational crimes carry a deep threat to the security of economic of the nation where their activities will hurt the free market economy. There are three main transnational activities that will be discussed here and that are money laundering, illicit trade and corruption.
2. Money Laundering
Definition Of Money Laundering
According to Financial Action Task Force (FATF), “money laundering is defined as the processing of criminal proceeds to disguise their illegal origin in order to legitimize the ill-gotten gains of crime”. The illegal activities by transnational crime groups gain a large amount of money which needs to be laundered. Money laundering is needed because most of the illegal transactions are with cash and because cash leaves almost no trace for the carrier's information such as evidence or documents. This large amount of money will have impact on the transactions of legitimate financial institution which in long term may bring negative effects on tax revenue, investment climate, and consumer confidence. Insider trading, bribery and computer fraud schemes may also create huge profits and support the ill-gotten gains through money laundering. Money laundering may weaken the establishment of free and competitive markets and the development of national economies.
The Control Of Money Laundering
It is a fact that controlling money laundering is not easy and need the cooperation from government, financial institutions and citizens. Aside from that, a transparency bureaucratic, anti corruption act also needed to support the control of money laundering. It's quite important to have international organizations that may help to control the money laundering. One of the organizations is the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which has been an inter-governmental body with a purpose to develop and promote policies both at national and international levels to fight against money laundering. FATF tried to convince those non-cooperative countries by publishing a “black list” with help of “name and shame” policy (Friedrich Schneider and Ursula Windischbauer, 2008, pp. 400). It has also fighting the money laundering by setting international standard and creates necessary political will for national legislative and regulatory reforms.
3 Illicit Trade
Definition Of Illicit Trade
Illicit trade means illegal trade which can also be means smuggling, undeclared local production and counterfeit items. The roots of illicit trade are corruption, poverty, and unequal income. Illicit trade has increased the danger in political consequences, money laundering, and corruption.
Illicit trade brings bad impact for industry and other sectors such as:
It hurts industry reputation;
It undermines investment in distribution network;
It damages brand equity;
It promotes the counterfeit production.
It supports consumer to unregulated product;
It supports funding terrorism and organized crime;
It motivates the widespread criminality;
It destroys the market for distributors, suppliers, and retailers;
It undermines government fiscal objectives.
Those bad impacts of illicit trade have significantly undermined countries development.
The Control Of Illicit Trade
Illicit trade in economic activities seems to be occurred by lack of state control and it is a direct challenge for state authority. High rate of corruption is related with state impotence and bad effects of illegal markets because criminal groups often bribe state to perform illicit trade. The control of illicit trade has to start with reforming the government's actions and policy makers with the help from international and regional organizations. State has to support with the form of more expansive, intensive, technologically innovative international policing, and surveillance effort. Some selective re-regulation targeting illicit financial flows must be implemented to decrease the terrorist financing (Peter Andreas, 2004, p. 647).
4 Corruption
Introduction To Corruption
The word “corruption” is taken from Latin adjective “corruptus” which means spoiled, destroyed and broken. Based on Concise Oxford Dictionary, the meaning “to corrupt” is to bribe and “corruption” leads to moral deterioration (Geoffrey M. Hodgson and Shuxia Jiang, 2007, pp.1044). Corruption is a phenomenon that has more than single definition. “Corruption is defined as the misuse of public office for private financial gain by an elected official.” (Rose-Ackerman, 1999) Corruption has been identified as “the single greatest obstacle to economic and social development.” (The World Bank, 1997) The Transparency International as the global coalition against corruption defined corruption as “the misuse of entrusted power for private gain” (Transparency International, 2000, p.2).
There are two factors which may have impact on corruption (Vito Tanzi, 1998, p. 563). First is the development of free international trade and business. The growth of international business and trade has given opportunity of many situations using the payment of bribes. These bribes may give benefit to companies which pay them to get an access to profitable contracts over competitors. Aside from that the bribe may give access to get foreign contracts or market or to particular benefits such as tax incentives. Second are some changes in the economies in many countries especially the transition economies. Privatization has a close relationship with corruption in the economic changes. State or public enterprises have been an essential source of corruption. One of the major sources of corruption is political corruption because it is often used to finance the political parties' activities. The privatization process of public or state enterprise has made situations whereby individuals such as ministers or high officials have the right to create decisions while others such as managers or other insiders have information that unavailable for outsiders and they may use privatization to benefit themselves.#p#分页标题#e#
The Impact Of Corruption On Development And Economic Performance
The Relation Between Corruption And Development
Corruption has many forms and may affect the development growth in many ways. The effect of corruption has altered the markets and the allocation of resources and it's likely to reduce the economic growth and efficiency (Vito Tanzi, 1998, p.583).
Corruption distorts the ability of government to establish the necessary regulatory inspections and controls to amend the market failures. Because of corruption, the government does not perform optimally on its regulatory standards over many aspects such as banks, food distribution, financial markets, hospitals, transportation activities and many others. Corruption motivates government intervention such as creating monopolies for private gains and will lead to market failures.
Corruption may also reduce the government role in areas such as protection of property rights and enforcement of contracts. In the example when citizens may buy their way out of at contractual obligation then the primary role of government is ruined and the growth will be negatively affected.
Corruption reduces incentives. In the corruption environment individuals may allocate their power to corrupt activities and not to productive activities and these corruption activities have a negative value for the development.
Corruption brings down the legitimacy of democracy and market economy. Based on fact that raised by many countries especially in transition economies countries, the criticism voiced against democracy and market economy that are supported by the presence of corruption. Corruption may be the barrier for country's movement toward democracy and a market economy.
Corruption may perform as an arbitrary tax with quite high welfare costs. The random nature of corruption makes high burdens because the cost of searching to whom the bribe must be paid has to be added with the cost of negotiating and paying the bribe. The obligations by contract secured by bribe payment are tend to be violated when corruption is decentralized.
Corruption will increase poverty because it will undermine the potential income earning of the poor.
The Relation Between Corruption And Economic Performance
There are some ways in which corruption may affect the economic performance:
Corruption may raise public investment because public investment project are easily to be manipulated by high official to get bribe (Tanzi and Davoodi, 1997, p.11). Due to that fact, corruption is often linked with quantity of public investment and not the quality of the public investment. High corruption countries tend to have low quality of infrastructure such as paved roads, railways, and power outages. It is assumed that corruption indeed lower the productivity of public investments and reduce the operation and maintenance of countries' infrastructures (Tanzi and Davoodi, 1997, p. 18).
Corruption may reduce investment and reduces the development of growth (Mauro, 1995, p.695). The reduction of investment is caused by higher costs and uncertainty created by corruption. The decline on the investment rate leads to reduction of rate of growth. Mauro (1995) found that corruption have negative effects with investment together with the view that corruption will lower the private marginal product of capital and for example corruption can be functioned as a tax on investment.
Corruption may also reduce the inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Based on the corruption theory, by paying bribes to corrupt the government bureaucrats to get benefits such as investment license, police protection, tax assessments and permits is viewed as additional cost for doing business. Corruption may decrease the expected profitability of the investment project. Investors will view the level of corruption in the host country as a guide to make decision to invest abroad. Corruption may lower FDI because corruption has similar effect as a tax. If there is an increase in either the corruption level or the tax rate on multinational firms in the host country then it's likely to reduce the inflow of FDI (Wei, 2000, p.8). There is no doubt that institutions may affect the economic performance. However, the negative impacts on corruption is vanished if the host country's institutional quality is good and suggesting that the investors value the institution's quality rather than the level of corruption in the host country (Ali Al-Sadig, 2009, p.289).
Corruption may reduce the government expenditure on health and education (Paulo Mauro, 1997, p. 88). Government takes role on the budgetary decisions and if the government is corrupted then the budget for expenditure to good sectors are also decreased. It may also reduce the tax revenue because corruption has impact in the customs and tax administration; therefore the ability of government to spend for public expenditure is also decreased. (Tanzi and Davoodi, 1997, p.9).
In context with financial liberalization corruption may lower the rate of return of capital and lower the improvement of technology. If the rate of corruption quite high, it can lower the growth and cause domestic rates of return to capital before liberalization drop below the other countries. In that case by opening capital account will lead to capital flight which reduces the rate of technological change and upset the economy's innovation sector. On the contrary if the rate of corruption quite low, it will support the growth and country's technological change (Fransisco L. Rivera -Batiz, 2001, p.728)
The Control Of Corruption
Corruption deals with the public goods analysis and the framework of public goods have helped to understand several difficulties in controlling corruption. Corruption has prevented markets to work properly, turns talented people to unproductive activities, reduces private or public investment, and prevents the maximum management of natural resources. With those bad affects, the corruption must be controlled to be able to support the development. Countries have to develop anti-corruption policies that are engaged in governance core and public sector reform. The main objectives from these policies are to increase the effectiveness, accountability, and transparency of public sectors through developed financial, administrative and control systems (Marie Chene, 2008, p.4).
There are several ways to monitor government measures in fighting corruption (Marie Chene, 2008, p.7):
Public Financial Management (PFM)
This PFM may help to prevent and detect the corrupt practices by providing proper management of public resources, support audit functions and allow tracking of improper expenditure.
Administrative and Civil Service Reforms
Anti-corruption strategy can be supported by administrative and civil service reforms. A well motivated, professional and well paid civil service may help to reduce corruption. Public official surveys have been implemented to survey the performance and quality of institutional environment, include the informal constraints and formal constrains.
Tax and Revenue Functions
Customs and Tax departments are sectors that likely connected with corruption and reform in this sector will have to include measures such as separation of functions, rotation, and reduction of discretionary powers.
Parliamentary Reform
Parliaments have a main role to fight corruption since they contribute the establishment of appropriate anti-corruption legal frameworks. The reform should be focused on transparency by making parliamentary activities open to public access and creating public consultation to support the parliamentary control and government activities especially with budget activities.
Decentralization
Decentralization holds a main public sector reform in many countries. Governments have to decentralize their activities and make decision in local level to promote government accountability, public participation and public policies.
Civil society organizations have crucial role to control corruption. Transparency international is one of those who fight against corruption by building “national, regional, and global coalitions that embrace the state, civil society, and the private sector to fight domestic and international corruption” (Galtung, 2000, p.26).
5 A Country Study: Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia is a biggest country in South East Asian but being the biggest country doesn't mean Indonesia has a successful economies compared with the other South East Asian Countries. One of the crucial factors that prevent Indonesia from the economic growth is corruption. Based on the Corruption Perception Index 2009, Indonesia's rank is 111 and that is really high rate of corruption compared to other neighbor countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei Darussalam. Indonesia has been identical with these three phrases such as corruption, collusion and nepotism. Those phrases have been conquering Indonesia's development and need to be fought. Since 1998 Indonesia had been implementing the reform program to fight the corruption (Natasha Hamilton Hart, 2001, p.69)
Political Reform
The most obvious changes from Soeharto era is the advent of electoral democracy. The house of representative or DPR (“Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat”) has introduced the free and fair election in 1999. For the first time after the independence, the citizens have ability to support their political actors.#p#分页标题#e#
Social and Press Freedom
This social and press freedom have supported the rise of broad civil associations, and organizations which focused on corruption such as Indonesia Corruption Watch and Transparency International Indonesia. The press and civil associations have significant role to monitor the government activities.
Fiscal Transparency and Financial Monitoring
These fiscal transparency and financial monitoring have increased transparency to monitor the government operations and reduce the irregular use of government funds.
Legal reform
There has been legal reform especially the court system and corruption laws. National Law Commission has been established to advise legal reform and legal problems.
Foreign Involvement in the Reform Process
Multilateral institutions, foreign firms and foreign individuals have played role in reform process of corruption. World Bank and IMF have monitored the corruption through their ability to give financial assistance. The programs of both organizations have closely related with governance and anti-corruption criteria.
Civil service reform
In consultation with World Bank, civil service reform strategy has been established. For example higher wages are necessary for anti corruption efforts, therefore the public sector salaries need to be improved to avoid corruption.
Conclusion
Globalization has widened transnational criminal activities around the world. Transnational criminal activities such as corruption, illicit trade, and money laundering have been a global problem that may bring negative impacts for economic performance and economic growth. Corruption may bring bad effects in economic performance such as reducing public investment, FDI, government expenditure, lower rate return of capital, and lower the technology change. Therefore it may prevent countries to achieve development growth. In order to control these transnational criminal activities, government, private actors, national and international organizations have to cooperate together to confront this global problem. Indonesia is one of the countries that have high level of corruption and need to fight this corruption to achieve its development. Some reforms have been implemented in fighting corruption and those may help Indonesia solve corruption but still Indonesia needs to improve its policies with the support of government and citizens.
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