Film Piracy, Organized Crime, and Terrorism

This report presents detailed case studies from around the globe in one area of counterfeiting, film piracy, to illustrate the broader problem of criminal—and perhaps terrorist—groups finding a new and not-much-discussed way of funding their nefarious activities.


This report presents the findings of research into the involvement of organized crime and terrorist groups in counterfeiting a wide range of products, from watches to automobile parts, from pharmaceuticals to computer software. Although there is less evidence of involvement by terrorists, piracy is high in payoff and low in risk for both groups, often taking place under the radar of law enforcement.

Table of Contents

Preface
Figures and Tables
Summary
Acknowledgments
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction: Defining the Issues
The Scope of Counterfeiting
Note on Cases and Methods
CHAPTER TWO
Organized Crime and Terrorism
Defining Organized Crime and Terrorism
Differences Between Terrorism and Organized Crime
Points of Convergence Between Terrorism and Organized Crime
The Changing Face of Terrorism
CHAPTER THREE
The Shape of Counterfeiting and the Example of Film Piracy
Factors Fueling Counterfeiting
The Color of Money
Defining Film Piracy
CHAPTER FOUR
Getting Down to Cases: Organized Crime and Film Piracy
North America
The Yi Ging: Chinatown Gang in New York City
The Jah Organization: Piracy and Money-Laundering Syndicate
China
Britain
Lin Liang Ren and Human Smuggling in Britain
Lotus Trading Company
Spain
Operations Katana and Sudoku: Chinese Human Smuggling
Raids on Chinese Diaspora Organized Crime in 2008
Italy
Camorra: Naples-Based Transnational Mafia Syndicate
Hong Kong
Malaysia
Ang Bin Hoey Triad
The Bottom Line
CHAPTER FIVE
Terrorism and Film Piracy: Known Cases
The Tri-Border Area (Latin America)
Northern Ireland
South Asia
The Bottom Line
CHAPTER SIX
The Role of Governments: “Protected Spaces” for Crime
Russia
Raiding Victoria, Gamma, and Russobit-Soft
Tarantsev
Mexico
Los Ambulantes
Japan
Yakuza: Yamaguchi-gumi
The Bottom Line
CHAPTER SEVEN
Innovations in Enforcement
Challenges to Increasing the Priority of Piracy
Government Will Is Limited
Law Enforcement Resources Are Limited
Stricter Law Enforcement
Recognizing the Link
Stepped-Up Enforcement: The Case of Hong Kong
Stepped-Up Enforcement: The Cases of NYPD and LAPD
Eradicating Space for Crime
Leveraging Piracy for Criminal Intelligence
CHAPTER EIGHT
The Way Forward
Changing the Face of Demand
Approaches to Mitigating Film Piracy: Treaty Regimes
A Broader Agenda for Action
Strong Government and Political Will
Good Legislation
Fair and Consistent Enforcement
Deterrent Sentencing
Willingness to Experiment with Innovative Solutions
Bibliography