User:Tucker28/Ukrainian mafia

Introduction

The Ukrainian mafia (Ukrainian: Українська мафія) is a term used to refer to the collection of organized criminal groups in Ukraine. The rate of organized crime in the country emerged as one of the highest in the world following the end of the Soviet Union in 1991. As of 2021, corruption in Ukraine was ranked 121 out of 180 countries by Transparency International. [UNICRI citation]. The Ukrainian Mafia is often discussed alongside the Russian mafia, Georgian mafia, Chechen mafia, Armenian mafia and Azerbaijani mafia as they had also developed through the USSR . Although Ukrainian criminal organizations are for the most part independently operating enterprises, they are sometimes connected with the Russian mafia.

The Ukrainian Mafia is frequently overshadowed or swapped with the Russian Mafia in discussions. However, Ukraine's criminal landscape has a distinct level of severity that often goes unnoticed in media coverage, with little information emerging about these criminal factions.

Ukraine is bordered by Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Russia, Belarus, and the Black Sea.

Activities

Ukraine's network of organized criminal groups engages in a diverse range of illicit activities, their schemes showed such a success that it almost gained them absolute control over various markets and industries. Their adeptness at executing these racketeering operations allowed some ventures to transition from unlawful operations to ostensibly legitimate enterprises. These efforts often centered around trafficking in commodities such as drugs, high-grade weaponry, fuel, and tobacco.

The Ukrainian Mafia primarily gained notoriety from its involvement in arms trafficking, drug distribution, and human trafficking. Their extensive influence and intricate networks across these illicit markets highlight the extent and scope of their criminal operations.

Arms Trafficking

Since the end of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Ukrainian Mafia became one of the most influential figures in weapons trafficking. The mafia's infamy stems majorly from its participation in the illicit international trafficking of these arms. Between 1992 and 1998, around $32 billion in military material disappeared from military depots in Ukraine and ended up primarily in West Africa and Central Asia. At the time Ukrainian criminal organizations were also alleged to have trafficked weapons to war-torn places such as Afghanistan. [5]

Drug Trafficking

From their success in arms dealing, Ukraine's organized crime entered into the international trade in illegal drugs, becoming a major figure in the narcotics traffic from Central Asia to Central Europe. The reach of the Ukrainian criminal organizations has been reported from Central European countries such as the Czech Republic and Hungary, where they're involved in prostitution, to North American countries and Israel, where they found a significant power base following the mass immigration of Ukrainian Jews, most of whom were law-abiding citizens, but also included criminal elements intent on profiting illegally from the open borders.[6]

Human Trafficking & Smuggling

Ukraine's prime location in Europe has made it a center for the increasingly prevalent human trafficking market. Victims originating from or brought into Ukraine have been forced into labor and sexual exploitation. These operations have been found to spread into other parts of Europe including Russia, Poland, and parts of the Middle East. Since the start of the war waged between Russia and Ukraine's government in February 2022, the human trafficking problem has only increased from its existing pervasiveness; human trafficking has now become one of the mafia's largest operations.

History

Odesa, Ukraine

Port at Odesa, Ukraine

Ukraine is bordered by Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Russia, Belarus, and several port cities along the Black Sea. Odesa is one of Ukraine’s most well-known and populated port cities. The city is regarded as the most important port-city in Ukraine and for oil trade with Siberia. Odesa has historically been a significant hub for criminal networking and the transportation of illicit goods. Regarded as a smuggler’s haven and a major center for trafficking operations, the city’s prime geographical location has facilitated a surplus of organized crime. The city of Odesa has traditionally had a lasting culture of banditry, which lends to the current state of criminality in Ukraine. One of Ukraine’s oldest criminal organizations, the Malina, gained its infamy when it spread to New York City in the U.S. and eventually to Israel when both countries opened up to Soviet Jews. Since the Malina's establishment, several additional criminal groups have spawned in the city and taken significant influence over Ukrainian markets. [UNI-CRI]

After the Soviet Union

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the disbanded republics experienced a turning point for organized criminal activity, especially in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Mafia emerged from the Soviet Era forming new ties with the Russian Mafia after discovering their shared business interests.

A Ukrainian organized criminal group led by Alexander Angert, known as "Angert's Gang" reigned as the most active criminal group in Ukraine. His gang was regarded as the "powerhouse" of illegal activity in 1990s Ukraine, responsible for extortion and coordinated political assassinations. The gang conducted several fuel racketeering schemes against the Odesa Refinery, among Ukraine's largest oil refineries. In July 1996, a criminal group attacked Prime Minister Pavel Lazarenko after he began new regulations of the gas market. Lazarenko's redistribution efforts were a threat to the stakes held by various criminal groups under the Ukrainian Mafia, which led to his attempted assassination as an effort to maintain their influence in the industry. Then in November of that same year, the president of the Aton Transnational Trading Company and deputy of Ukraine's parliament, Evhgenij Scherban, was murdered. His death was suspected to be motivated by his activity in the gas market, which again threatened the economic stakes of the Ukrainian mafia. These acts of violence against Ukraine's officials when economic interests are threatened represent the severity of the nation's criminal activity levels.

In the 2000s, the Ukrainian mafia cooperated with the Neapolitan Camorra in the cigarette smuggling business. The Ukrainians would smuggle the cigarettes from Ukraine and Eastern Europe into Italy, where with the help of the Camorra it supplied the Neapolitan market. In recent years, the Camorra Contini clan is said to have cooperated in the same scheme with the Ukrainians. Then in 2014, Viktor Yanukovych, the former president of Ukraine, elected not to sign an agreement with the European Union. This decision was heavily influenced by Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia. Yanukovych's decision not to sign the agreement for European influence over the nation was met with harsh criticism and protests by young Ukrainians. The Ukrainian police forces beat and assaulted these protesters, and the rise of violence led to a spike in organized criminality in the country. After the events of what became known as the Maidan Revolution, Kyiv's government moved to take stern actions against criminal activity and corruption in the country. Kyiv's efforts proved to be unsuccessful as the issue continues to prevail in the nation. According to the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, Ukraine implemented the National Strategy Against Organized Crime, which highlights the threat to national security that organized crime poses to the country. Organized crime is acknowledged as a fundamental issue in Ukraine, while continuous efforts are made to remedy the problem, organized crime remains an ongoing issue.

External Operations:

In the United States the Odesa mafia is based in the Brighton Beach district of Brooklyn, New York. It is regarded as the most powerful post-Soviet criminal organization in the US and has since expanded its operations to Miami, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area, where it has established connections with local Armenian and Israeli crime figures. It's known for being a very secretive organization and is involved in protection rackets, loan-sharking, murder-for-hire, narcotics trafficking, as well as the infamous fuel tax fraud rackets. Nonetheless a large amount of Odesa mafia-connected gangsters have become part of the US' criminal folklore, examples being Marat Balagula, Evsei Agron and Boris Nayfeld. Feuds, often resulting in extreme violence, happened in the 1980s and 1990s between Odesa gangsters such as the internal war between Balagula and Agron at first, and later on between the Nayfeld brothers and Monya Elson.

Structure and Notable Figures

The Ukrainian Mafia contains a network of criminal organizations originating in Ukraine. There are reportedly around 40 bosses leading individual gangs within the mafia, many of which now operate outside of Ukraine’s borders. The term “thieves-in-law” is commonly referenced with organized crime in Ukraine, translated from “вор в зако́не” of the Cyrillic alphabet or the Romanized version, “vory-v-zakone.” The slang term originates in Russia and refers to the web of relations between all Ukrainian criminal groups. The Ukrainian Mafia, like many organized criminal organizations, has a very hierarchical structure. In a dataset known as the Paradise Papers, the criminal actors in these groups are called "soldiers."

Aleksander Angert

Alexander Angert is among one of the most notable "soldiers" of the Ukrainian Mafia, his influence lies heavily in the Neftemafia and Angert's Gang. Born December 24, 1955, Aleksander Angert is regarded as one of the most influential criminal actors in Ukraine.

Aleksander Angert's gang, termed "Angert's Gang" was the most relevant and influential gangs of the 1990s. Nickolay Fomichev was a notable and active member of this group. During its prime, the gang was responsible for some of the largest fuel racketeering and extortion schemes in Ukraine; they traveled all across Europe and conducted a majority of their business exchanges in Italy. The group disappeared swiftly after years of success, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project notes that its only known legacy is Odesa's mayor, Gennadiy Trukhanov. Despite his acknowledgment as a member of one of Ukraine's major crime syndicates, he continues his role as mayor. 2018, the OCCRP revealed the discovery of Angert's secret properties in London. For approximately 22 years, Aleksander Angert and his gang members had been funneling criminal profits into luxury apartments in London. Trukhanov was additionally indicted with laundering money through these London properties.

The Neftemafia, or Oil Mafia, is one of Ukraine's most infamous criminal organizations. Based in Odesa, the Oil Mafia focused on the illicit trade of oil; they took advantage of the city's hyper-active port system. With around 13 million tons of oil exported from Odesa's ports, the city poses as the Oil Mafia's prime location for their illicit market. There is little information about the mafia's members or current activities, but investigative operations have found links between Angert and Leonid Minin.

Leonid Minin

Born in December 14, 1947 in Odesa, Leonid Minin is a businessman who primarily operates in the oil industry. Minin is regarded as one of the most criminally relevant figures in Ukraine. His influence dominates several areas of criminal activity including: Monte Carlo, Paris, London, Berlin, Vienna, Geneve, and Tel Aviv. He was the prime leader of the Neftemafia and was also influential in several activities conducted by Angert's Gang. He is regarded as one of the most notorious arms dealers in Ukraine. [Paradise Papers].

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The study of organized crime in Ukraine has taken on several new connotations since the start of the war with Russia in 2022. While the war is between the governments of the two nations, the mafias of the countries have seen drastic fluctuations in dynamics and restrictions. The conflict has fostered a very politically intense environment that has led to many criminal groups severing ties with the respective countries. As such, collaboration between the Ukrainian Mafia and the Russian Mafia has virtually vanished since Russia invaded Ukraine.