Instituto de Estudios Políticos y Derecho Público "Dr. Humberto J. La Roche"
de la Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Políticas de la Universidad del Zulia
Maracaibo, Venezuela
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Vol.41 N° 77
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ISSN 0798- 1406 ~ De pó si to le gal pp 198502ZU132
Cues tio nes Po lí ti cas
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Vol. 41, Nº 77 (2023), 369-389
IEPDP-Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Políticas - LUZ
Crime prevention in special
(free) economic zones
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46398/cuestpol.4177.25
Nataliia Veselovska *
Stanislav Sieriebriak **
Valerii Petkov ***
Igor Dovban ****
Andrii Udod *****
Abstract
The objective of the study was to determine the specic
aspects and prospects of crime prevention in special economic
zones as special economic and geographical entities. In the
course of the research a set of practical methods was applied:
doctrinal, comparative and prognostic approach. The risk of
crime in the zones depends on the particular economic activity
and the actors involved. The current criminal structure in free
trade zones is dominated by illegal trade and infringement of
intellectual property rights. However, the structuring of crime commonly
depends on two factors: a) the division of zones into external/internal; and
b) characteristics of the economic system of the country where the zone
is located. The entities dedicated to crime prevention are classied as
special and non-special, with international entities and representatives of
the private sector standing out. It is concluded that the prospects for crime
prevention in this area are related to the involvement of the capacities of
international actors and the action of representatives of the private sector,
taking into account the particular characteristics and conditions of countries
with a transitive economy and a particular legal system.
Keywords: crime prevention; organized criminal activity; special
economic zones (free trade zones); criminal risks; entities
dedicated to crime prevention.
* Candidate of Sciences of Law, Dean of the Law Faculty, Docent of the Department of Criminal Law,
Criminology, Civil and Business Law, National Academy of Management, 03151, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCID
ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5321-9693
** Candidate of Legal Sciences, Associate Professor, Department of Law, Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian
National University, 03057, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7207-594X
*** Doctor of Legal Sciences, Professor of the Department of Public and Private Law, Donetsk University of
Internal Aairs, 25015, Kropivnitsky, Ukraine. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4310-5876
**** Doctor of Law Sciences, Acting Chairman of the Board, PJSC “Kyiv – Dnipro Intersectoral Industrial
Railway Transportation Company”, 02092, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-
8590-2334
***** Candidate of Legal Sciences, Head of the Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty No. 1,
Donetsk State University of Internal Aairs, 25000, Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine. ORCID ID: https://orcid.
org/0000-0001-8029-4878
370
Nataliia Veselovska, Stanislav Sieriebriak, Valerii Petkov, Igor Dovban y Andrii Udod
Crime prevention in special (free) economic zones
Prevención del delito en zonas económicas
especiales (francas)
Resumen
El objetivo del estudio fue determinar los aspectos especícos y
las perspectivas de la prevención del delito en las zonas económicas
especiales (francas) como entidades económicas y geográcas especiales.
En el transcurso de la investigación se aplicó un conjunto de métodos
prácticos: enfoque doctrinal, comparativo y pronóstico. El riesgo de
delincuencia en las zonas depende de la actividad económica particular y
los actores involucrados. La estructura criminal actual en las zonas francas
está dominada por el comercio ilegal y la infracción de los derechos de
propiedad intelectual. Sin embargo, la estructuración del delito depende
comúnmente de dos factores: a) la división de zonas en externo/interno;
y b) características del sistema económico del país donde se ubica la zona.
Las entidades dedicadas a la prevención del delito se clasican en especiales
y no especiales, destacando las entidades internacionales y representantes
del sector privado. Se concluye que, las perspectivas para la prevención
del delito en esta área están relacionadas con el involucramiento de las
capacidades de los actores internacionales y la acción de los representantes
del sector privado, teniendo en cuenta las características y condiciones
particulares de los países con una economía transitiva y un sistema legal
determinado.
Palabras clave: prevención del delito; actividad delictiva organizada;
zonas económicas especiales (francas); riesgos penales;
entidades dedicadas a la prevención del delito.
Introduction
Special (free) economic zones (SEZs) are an economic tool, the main
feature of which is regulatory liberalization in a certain geographic area
(OECD Legal Instruments, 2019). The idea of C(F)EZ is to stimulate
trade and investment by simplifying/minimizing customs, tax and other
regulatory regimes (Moiseienko, 2021). Prospects for economic growth
determine the development of S(F)EZ: a) there were more than 3,500 by
the middle of 2022, and almost a third were created in the last ve years
(Basquill, 2022); b) in the pre-pandemic period, 2,200 S(F)EZ provided
approximately 70 million jobs.
S(F)EZ are created in the territories of both economically developed
countries and those with transitive economies. In the latter case, these
zones are created as an important factor in solving a number of systemic
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Vol. 41 Nº 77 (2023): 369-389
economic problems (Hussain and Rao, 2020), including in the territories
adjacent to such zones (Veselovska et al., 2022).
Moreover, proper customs procedures/control in S(F)EZ become
an economic factor even for those countries that do not have such zones
(WCO, 2020). This gives grounds to talk about the synergistic eect of the
functioning of S(F)EZ for the development of a state that applies a regional
or multilateral approach to the regulation of economic processes (Manjiao,
2021; McPherson-Smith, 2022). As a result, the integration of certain parts
of state territories into the global economy is ensured through dierentiated
regulation (Holden, 2017).
However, the functioning of S(F)EZ also has a negative side — the
active development of organized crime. Weakly controlled S(F)EZ
become attractive for trade in counterfeit products, smuggling and money
laundering, which results in the increased volume of the shadow economy
(OECD/EUIPO, 2018; ICC, BASCAP, 2020).
A separate threat is the negative environmental impact of S(F)EZ because
of the criminal depletion of environmental resources (Aung et al., 2022). It
is clear that various types of criminal activity can exist both in the S(F)EZ
and outside their borders. However, the attractiveness of these zones for
crime is explained by their main feature — maximum liberalization of state
regulation (Kopotun et al., 2020; Moiseienko, 2021).
In this regard, the modern theory of economic geography pays attention
to the spatiality of illegal industries as an important socio-economic factor
(Hall et al., 2021). Accordingly, international experts oer the results of
complex studies on the anti-criminal security of the S(F)EZ (for example,
OECD Legal Instruments, 2019; WCO, 2020; ICC, BASCAP, 2020; Chase
et al., 2021).
However, it is considered appropriate to include crime prevention in
S(F)EZ in a wider criminological context. This is determined by the fact
that:
• crime in S(F)EZ can be considered as a separate component of the
phenomenon of economic organized crime. The production and
distribution of illegal goods and services dominates the prots of
organized crime. Sometimes the act of organized crime is aimed at
power or intimidation. But these actions are a way to ensure the
main activity, because they are designed to ensure the survival and
protability of the criminal enterprise (Albanese, 2021);
• due to the peculiarities of economic activity, crime in the S(F)
EZ is transnational in nature, which requires the coordination of
preventive activities at the global level;
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Nataliia Veselovska, Stanislav Sieriebriak, Valerii Petkov, Igor Dovban y Andrii Udod
Crime prevention in special (free) economic zones
• crime in S(F)EZ is a global threat to security. It creates conditions
for, in particular, the nancing of terrorism, increased instability
and violence around the world (OECD Legal Instruments, 2019).
Accordingly, the provisions of the Kyoto Declaration (UNODC, 2021)
regarding the elimination of the economic aspect of crime can be considered
conceptual for crime prevention in S(F)EZ.
Thus, the analysis of crime in S(F)EZ is an urgent issue both for
sustainable economic development and for preventive activities in
individual states and the world as a whole.
Aim. The above gives grounds for formulating the aim of this study as
determining the features and prospects for improving crime prevention in
S(F)EZ in view of their specics as an economic and geographic entity. The
aim involved the following research objectives:
a. identify the specic signs of S(F)EZ and their correlation with the
criminal situation in the zones;
b. determine the peculiarities of the crime structure in S(F)EZ and the
regularity of this structure determined by the specic features of the
zones;
c. classify entities engaged in crime prevention in S(F)EZ, taking into
account the most eective preventive measures;
d. outline the prospects for the development of crime prevention in
S(F)EZ.
1. Literature review
A feature of crime analysis in S(F)EZ and its countermeasures is high
latency due to the limited sources of statistical accounting (Windle and
Silke, 2019; Aung et al., 2022), as well as the specics of detecting facts of
criminal acts and arresting oenders, which often occurs outside the zones
(Holden, 2017).
Therefore, the study of the problem is partly theoretical. In this context,
it is possible to form a logical sequence of aspects of research: risks causing
crime in zones — typical types of crime in S(F)EZ — development trends
and harmful consequences of crime in S(F)EZ — peculiarities of crime
prevention in zones.
1. The following studies of risks that cause criminal activity in S(F)EZ
can be distinguished: a) purely applied, which are aimed at determining
specic organizational and legal defects in the functioning of zones (for
example, ICC, BASCAP, 2020: 5; Kovalchyk, 2020; Basquill, 2022); b) broad
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economic and criminological ones, including the issue of criminogenic risks
in S(F)EZ in the general context of economic crime (for example, Holden,
2017; Hall et al., 2022); c) “middle-level” approaches, which are aimed
at identifying the features of S(F)EZ that make the zones attractive for
transnational organized crime (for example, Moiseienko, 2021; Panagiotis,
2021).
2. With regard to research on the crime structure in S(F)EZ, the ratio of
legal and criminological understanding of crime is a prerequisite: although
illegal activity in S(F)EZ consists of violations and crimes, it is appropriate
to carry out its criminological analysis as “crime” because of the systematic,
organized, large-scale, transnational nature of illegal activity (Vestby,
2022).
Violation of intellectual property rights and illegal trade in consumer
goods are the main types of crime in S(F)EZ. The share of counterfeit goods
from countries in which the 20 largest S(F)EZs are located is twice as large
as from countries that do not have any zones. On average, the creation of
one S(F)EZ leads to an increased value of counterfeit products by 5.9%
(Holden, 2017; OECD/EUIPO, 2018; ICC, BASCAP, 2020; Basquill, 2022).
The crime structure also includes money laundering (OECD/EUIPO,
2018). The origin of “dirty” money is not necessarily connected with
the activities of S(F)EZ. The infrastructure of the zones can be used by
corrupt government ocials (Basquill, 2022; Kopotun et al., 2022) and
cybercriminals (Hall et al., 2021) for money laundering and evading
sanctions.
However, the crime structure in S(F)EZ signicantly depends on the
prole of the zone and the peculiarities of its territorial localization, as the
studies of zones in countries with a transitive economy showed (for example,
Kovalchyk, 2020; Van Uhm and Wong, 2021mc)39. Besides, dierences in
the share of particular crimes were established depending on whether the
zone is “internal” or “external” for a particular state (ICC, BASCAP, 2020).
As for the specics of criminal groups that operate in S(F)EZ or use them,
law enforcement ocers emphasize the threats that come from the subjects
of transnational organized crime (Vestby, 2022). Such organizations
operate for prot and often choose a modern network structure over a
traditional hierarchical one (Breuer and Varese, 2022). The same criminal
networks are involved in various crimes: from drug tracking to fraud
(ICC, BASCAP, 2020; Van Uhm et al., 2021).
3. As regards crime trends in the S(F)EZ: a) the Internet have contributed
by the expansion of circulation of counterfeit goods, diversication of
the ways of their movement (ICC, BASCAP, 2020); b) the facts of the
establishment of criminal control over the strategic infrastructure of S(F)
EZ are noted (OECD/EUIPO, 2021; Basquill, 2022); c) existing threats of
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Nataliia Veselovska, Stanislav Sieriebriak, Valerii Petkov, Igor Dovban y Andrii Udod
Crime prevention in special (free) economic zones
using the zones’ capabilities by terrorist groups (for example, Hussain and
Rao, 2020).
These trends indicate that criminal use of S(F)EZ opportunities goes
beyond causing harm to individual businesses and refers to the macro level
of causing social harm (Aung et al., 2022; Basquill, 2022).
4. The peculiarities of crime prevention in the zones are considered as
a complex of legal and organizational and institutional measures carried
out by interstate, state and non-state actors. The analysis of the presented
results gives reason to single out a number of prevention blocks:
• regulatory legal block, which provides for the comprehensive
improvement of the legal framework for the organization and
functioning of S(F)EZ (OECD Legal Instruments, 2019; WCO, 2020;
ICC, BASCAP, 2020; OECD/EUIPO, 2021).
• a block of measures to organize the collection and proper accounting
of statistical data, including the introduction of the latest Big Data
processing technologies (World Customs Organization, 2019; Park
and Lee, 2020);
• a block of measures on the organization of cooperation between
national and international law enforcement and control agencies,
which should take into account the experience of coordinating the
ght against transnational organized crime (Customs Co-operation
Council, 2008; OECD Legal Instruments, 2019);
• a block of measures to involve non-state actors in countering crime
in the F(F)EZ (OECD Legal Instruments, 2019; Panagiotis, 2021;
Wu et al., 2021).
• The appropriateness of introducing general standards for the
administration of S(F)EZ and cooperation with law enforcement
agencies in combating crime is separately emphasized (OECD Legal
Instruments, 2019; Chase et al., 2021; Moiseienko, 2021).
So, the following gaps can be identied in the existing studies: a)
intelligence and recommendations are mainly applied in nature and are
not included in the context of transnational organized economic crime
prevention; b) conclusions are generalized and do not always take into
account the localization of the zone (in developed countries or in transitive
economies); c) preference is given to measures of state coercion, rather
than incentives for cooperation between the public and private sectors.
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2. Methods
The literature and sources that cover the economic, legal and
organizational issues of the functioning of S(F)EZ were selected in order to
achieve the aim and full the research objectives set in the article.
The data on the practice of functioning of S(F)EZ as an economic
geographic entity, the criminological situation in the zones, and the specics
of combating crime in them were summarized in the course of the study.
Analytical reports and recommendations of international organizations,
projects and initiatives regarding the set of measures to combat crime in the
S(F)EZ were used. Particular attention is paid to the experience of Ukraine
as a country with a transitive economy and legal system.
This made it possible to a) generalize the features of S(F)EZ and nd
out the relationship between these features with crime in the zones; b)
identify the peculiarities of the nature and structure of crime in S(F)EZ;
c) determine the specics of the entities engaged in crime prevention in
S(F)EZ; d) outline the main prospects for increasing the eectiveness of
preventive activities in this area (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Research design.
Source: prepared by the authors.
The following methods were used in this study:
• systemic approach was used to determine crime: a) as one of the
security threats to the functioning of S(F)EZ in the legal eld; b) as
376
Nataliia Veselovska, Stanislav Sieriebriak, Valerii Petkov, Igor Dovban y Andrii Udod
Crime prevention in special (free) economic zones
a result of the establishment of criminal control over the strategic
infrastructure of S(F)EZ;
• descriptive analysis was used to identify and study the specics of
criminal threats to the functioning of S(F)EZ and the consequences
of criminalization of acts committed in the zone;
• systematic sampling and doctrinal approach were used to identify
and describe illegal acts, the totality of which constitutes crime in
S(F)EZ, as well as signs of criminal structures that commit these
acts;
• comparative method was applied to compare the recommendations
of international experts and the experience of Ukraine as a
country with a transitive economy and legal system regarding the
organization of preventive activities;
• the forecasting method was used to determine the prospects for
improving the eectiveness of combating crime in S(F)EZ.
3. Results
It is appropriate to refer to the generalization of the features of zones
as an economic and geographical areas in order to identify the specics of
crime in S(F)EZ and understand its trends (see Figure 2).
Figure 2. Specic features of S(F)EZ as an economic and geographical area.
Source: prepared by the authors.
Such systematization means an opportunity to specify criminogenic
risks and their implementation in the activities of S(F)EZ. It is believed that
the signs most associated with criminal activity are:
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CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
Vol. 41 Nº 77 (2023): 369-389
• special economic regulations in S(F)EZ, as the combination of
various benets and the liberalization of state control is very
attractive for organized criminal groups;
• special entities engaged in crime prevention can pose a danger to
the normal functioning of S(F)EZ in the event that organized crime
establishes ties with S(F)EZ administrators or controls them. It is
obvious that such a risk increases when the administrator of the
S(F)EZ is a private company (domestic or foreign). However, even
when the zone is administered by a state-owned company, organized
crime can operate in S(F)EZ through corruption mechanisms.
As for the position on proling S(F)EZ as a criminogenic factor, the
prole of S(F)EZ can determine the structure of crime, but not the very
fact of criminal activity in the zone. This statement directly follows from
the approach to the main criminogenic risks inherent in S(F)EZ: regardless
of the type of activity of the zones, they always have special economic
regulations and special entities engaged in crime prevention. Figure 3
presents the classication of zones by types of activity.
Figure 3. The main types of S(F)EZ by activity features (zone proles).
Source: prepared by the authors.
At the same time, the experience of combating organized crime shows
that any economic sector can be attractive to criminal structures. However,
a number of areas of activity in the S(F)EZ which are the most attractive
for organized crime were identied during the pandemic and in the post-
pandemic period, to (RUSI, n.d.) (see Figure 4).
Figure 4. Types of activities in S(F)EZ with the highest risk of crime.
Source: prepared by the authors.
378
Nataliia Veselovska, Stanislav Sieriebriak, Valerii Petkov, Igor Dovban y Andrii Udod
Crime prevention in special (free) economic zones
Accordingly, the risk of crime increases when operations with the most
liquid goods (medicines, food, alcohol and tobacco products) or activities
derived from the production of products are carried out on the territory
of the C(F)EZ. In the latter case, the increased criminal vulnerability
is determined by the relatively small nancial and organizational costs
of conducting business activities, as well as the possibilities of using the
existing infrastructure of S(F)EZ.
It was mentioned regarding the peculiarities of the crime structure in
S(F)EZ that it diers depending on the zone location— within the state
or outside it. The ICCBASCAP (ICC, BASCAP, 2020) report presented a
summary of responses from representatives of countries facing crime in the
S(F)EZ. In our study, the generalization of this information is illustrated
with an approximate ranking of the most common crimes: signicant spread
— from 8 to 10 points; medium spread — from 4 to 7 points; insignicant
spread — from 1 to 3 points (see Figure 5).
Along with this, it is appropriate to clarify the given features of the crime
structure in S(F)EZ for countries with a transitive economy and legal system.
For example, no facts of wildlife smuggling were found in the Crimea S(F)
EZ — an internal zone for Ukraine. However, money laundering and tax
evasion were widespread.
Figure 5. The ratio of types of crimes in the crime structure in S(F)EZ depending
on the zone location.
Source: ICC, BASCAP (2020)
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Accordingly, the classication of types of crime in S(F)EZ is complex
and involves two grounds: a) division of zones into external/internal; b)
taking into account the peculiarities of the economic and legal system of
the country where the zone is located. The indication of the transitivity of
the legal system is determined by such a feature of S(F)EZ as a special legal
regulation —a separate legal act, which is the basis for the creation and
functioning of the zone.
In general, the given data provide grounds for seeing crime in S(F)EZ as
a system of criminal actions, and not isolated, albeit numerous, violations of
the law. At the same time, crime in S(F)EZ has an economic and organized
nature. The activities of such criminal structures are aimed at obtaining
surplus prots.
The structuring of crime in S(F)EZ determines the peculiarities of the
construction of the preventive system. In particular, the negative trends
of crime cannot be currently overcome only by the eorts of state bodies.
Accordingly, a constant dialogue between the public and private sectors can
ensure eective crime prevention, taking into account the peculiarities of
the zones.
Along with this, the peculiarity of crime prevention in S(F)EZ is the active
role of international actors. This is determined by the transnational nature of
criminal activity in the zones. Accordingly, international intergovernmental
and non-governmental organizations are of great importance, in particular,
the World Free Zones Organization, the International Coalition Against
Illicit Economies, the European Union Intellectual Property Oce, the
Task Force on Countering Illicit Trade, etc.
In turn, the EU law enforcement agencies — Eurojust, Europol, Frontex
— take a direct part in the prevention of transnational economic crimes,
ensure the coordination of the activities of national law enforcement
agencies, provide technical, methodical and legal assistance in the
investigation of organized criminal activity, bringing the guilty to criminal
liability.
The above makes it possible to classify the entities engaged in crime
prevention in S(F)EZ with their division into specialized and non-
specialized ones. For specialized entities, crime prevention is the main
type of activity, for non-specialized ones this activity is complementary.
Besides, the eectiveness of crime prevention is an indicator of the activity
of specialized entities (see Figure 6).
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Nataliia Veselovska, Stanislav Sieriebriak, Valerii Petkov, Igor Dovban y Andrii Udod
Crime prevention in special (free) economic zones
Figure 6. The system of entities engaged in crime prevention in S(F)EZ.
Source: prepared by the authors.
The complexity of the phenomenon of organized economic crime and
the number of criminal manifestations in the S(F)EZ determine the variety
of countermeasures. At the same time, international recommendations and
national policy in this area are based on the need to maintain a balance
between the freedom of economic activity and the eectiveness of crime
prevention.
In view of the forgoing, it is informative to compare the conceptual
directions of crime prevention in S(F)EZ with the main entities engaged in
crime prevention. At the same time, in addition to the proposals of RUSI
(n.d.), it is proposed to include anti-corruption activities in the list of such
directions (see Table 1). For S(F)EZ located in countries with a transitive
economy and legal system, corrupt practices of customs ocials are quite
widespread.
However, corruption is a more global problem than a set of specic
crimes. It is the basis for increasing the volume and territorial spread of
organized economic crime. With regard to transnational criminal activity,
combating corruption should be considered an independent direction of
international cooperation in the eld of combating crime.
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Table 1. The matrix of correspondence of conceptual directions of crime
prevention in S(F)EZ to entities engaged in crime prevention
Directions of
prevention
Entities engaged in crime prevention
international national Civil society
experts
law
enforcement
ocers
regulatory
authorities
law
enforcement
ocers
commercial
entities
non-
commercial
associations
Physical security +
Monitoring of
operations + + + +
Inspection of
economic entities + + +
Control over
transparency of
nal beneciaries + + + + + +
Publication of
crime statistics + +
Anti-corruption
activities + + + + + +
Source: Oliinyk (2018: 33-34), RUSI (n.d.)
The presented matrix shows that two directions — control over
transparency of nal beneciaries and anti-corruption activities — are
common to most of the entities engaged in crime prevention in S(F)EZ.
This is an anticipatory activity that reduces the possibilities of establishing
control of criminal structures over companies in the zones.
It is important that the implementation of these directions does not
contain signicant restrictions on business activity and provides for the
active involvement of a wide range of entities in crime prevention.
The directions given in the matrix can be considered general for all
zones. They constitute the current activities of the entities engaged in
crime prevention, and can also become the basis for improving preventive
activities. However, it is advisable for countries with a transitive economy
and legal system to discuss more dierentiated proposals. This is related to
the formation of eective state mechanisms and adoption of international
experience (see Table 2).
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Nataliia Veselovska, Stanislav Sieriebriak, Valerii Petkov, Igor Dovban y Andrii Udod
Crime prevention in special (free) economic zones
Table 2. Promising areas of crime prevention in S(F)EZ for countries with a
transitive economy and legal system (based on the Ukraine’s experience)
Promising
areas Expected result Systemic
implementation
diculties Ways of overcoming
Legal
1. An eective legal
framework for the
regulation of economic
activity in the country,
in particular, S(F)EZ.
2. An eective legal
framework for
countering economic
oences in the S(F)
EZ (customs, tax and
criminal legislation).
Excessive legal
regulation of economic
relations and a large
volume of discretionary
powers of government
entities.
1. Study of foreign
experience in regulation
of S(F)EZ.
2. Implementation of
international standards
and recommendations
regarding the activities
of S(F)EZ.
Organizational
1. Formation of a
coordinated system of
the entities engaged
in economic policy
implementation.
2. An economically
sound and politically
independent system
of control and law
enforcement agencies.
1. Lack of balance
between public and
private entities engaged
in economic policy
implementation.
2. Imbalance in the
system of control and law
enforcement agencies as
a result of its long-term
reformation.
1. Exchange of work
experience of control
and law enforcement
agencies of dierent
states in preventing
transnational crime.
2. Cooperation with
international and
intergovernmental
organizations involved
in crime prevention in
S(F)EZ.
Resource
1. Adequate stang
and nancial support
of economic crime
countermeasures.
2. Economic
stimulation of fair
participants in
economic activity
to prevent the
commission of
oences.
1. High corruption rate
among customs ocials.
2. Insucient technical
support of controlling
and law enforcement
agencies.
1. Involvement of
international expert and
advisory institutions in
the eld of economic
crime prevention, in
particular, in S(F)
EZ, forecasting and
programming of this
activity.
2. Involvement
of material and
technical assistance,
implementation of
the latest methods
for detection and
investigation of
economic crimes.
Informational
1. Organization of
information and
communication links
between subjects of
activity for combating
economic crime.
2. Informing all
interested parties
regarding the state of
economic crime and its
prevention, including
in S(F)EZ.
High latency of economic
crimes.
Reforming the system
of statistical accounting
with due regard to the
transnational nature of
economic crimes.
Source: Rieznik (2019: 245-246), Hrytsyshen (2021: 175-176).
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CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
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The given directions, the expected results of the implementation of
these measures, the diculties of implementation and ways to overcome
them can both intensify against crime prevention in S(F)EZ and strengthen
the economic system of the transitive states.
In view of the foregoing, there are prospects for the development of the
principles of crime prevention in S(F)EZ at the current stage.
This should be facilitated by the improvement of the system of statistical
record of economic crimes, introduction of new sources of information about
organized criminal groups. Along with this, it is important to involve non-
state actors in combating organized economic crime — members of S(F)EZ
and non-commercial associations, as well as international participants in
preventive activities.
4. Discussion
The theoretical and methodological principles of the study of crime
prevention in C(F)EZ determine the understanding of zones as an economic
geographic area, which is widespread in the modern globalized economy.
Based on the generalization of the results of economic surveys (Kovalchyk,
2020; Moiseienko, 2021), this study presents a summary of the specic
features of S(F)ES. However, the position about the zone prole or the
liberalization of regulatory regimes as the main feature determining the
greatest criminogenic risks is considered inaccurate (Moiseienko, 2021;
Panagiotis, 2021).
This article shows that it is appropriate to attribute special economic
regulations in the zones and the entities engaged in crime prevention to the
signs with the highest criminogenic factor. At the same time, the position
of singling out a number of spheres of activity in S(F)EZ mainly exposed
to crime is supported (RUSI, n.d.). This made it possible to clarify the
understanding of crime in S(F)EZ as a transnational activity.
In general, the thesis that S(F)EZs make countries vulnerable to crime
because the expansion of economic strategies generates new complex forms
of criminality (Hall et al., 2022) was generally supported. Accordingly,
the consequences of crime in zones become a signicant factor in socio-
economic tension in society (Aung et al., 2022; Basquill, 2022).
Along with this view, this study develops a vision of crime in S(F)EZ as
a component of economic organized crime (Albanese, 2021), and supports
an approach in which economic crimes and other oences are seen as a
complex threat (Vestby, 2022). In the context of organized criminal groups,
the position regarding the proliferation of network structures that tend to
the production and distribution of illegal goods and services.
384
Nataliia Veselovska, Stanislav Sieriebriak, Valerii Petkov, Igor Dovban y Andrii Udod
Crime prevention in special (free) economic zones
(Prokopenko et al., 2023) is supported. This study emphasizes the
multidimensional nature of criminal groups and the social and power
dynamics between crime, consumers of illegal goods and services, and
corrupt ocials.
There is also a shared view that acts related to the production and
circulation of counterfeit goods prevail in the structure of crime in S(F)
EZ (OECD/EUIPO, 2018; Basquill, 2022). The position that the share of
certain types of crime varies signicantly depending on the localization of
the zones was supported in this research (ICC, BASCAP, 2020).
This work also proves that the structuring of crime should take into
account the peculiarities of countries with a transitive economy and legal
system. Accordingly, it is proposed to classify types of crime in S(F)EZ
taking into account: a) the division of zones into external/internal; b)
features of the economic system of the country where the zone is located.
International experts oer the results of comprehensive research on the
anti-criminal security of S(F)EZ, for example: a) Recommendation of the
Council on Countering Illicit Trade (OECD Legal Instruments, 2019); b)
Practical guidelines of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Practical
Guidance on Free Zones (WCO, 2020); c) the International Chamber of
Commerce’s Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (ICC
BASCAP): Controlling the Zone: Balancing facilitation and control to
combat illicit trade in the world’s Free Trade Zones (ICC, BASCAP, 2020);
d) RUSI project Criminal Risks in Free Trade Zones (Chase et al., 2021). In
general, the vision of a set of crime prevention activities in S(F)EZ carried
out by certain entities was conrmed (OECD/EUIPO, 2018; Chase et al.,
2021).
However, this study proposes a classication of entities engaged in
crime prevention into specialized and non-specialized. It also emphasizes
the leading role of international actors and the active participation of the
private sector. This further conrms the importance of the global exchange
of law enforcement information and increasing the eectiveness of
interagency cooperation (OECD Legal Instruments, 2019).
In general, it was established that not enough attention is paid to crime
prevention in S(F)EZs, which are located in countries with a transitive
economy and legal system. This is why, in addition to the analysed
professional developments, this study proposes promising directions for
crime prevention in the S(F)EZ for countries with a transitive economy and
legal system (using the example of Ukraine).
Ukraine, as a state with a transitive economy, had experience in the
functioning of the Crimea S(F)EZ during 2014 - 2021. The analysis showed
that this zone was vulnerable to the violation of intellectual property rights,
money laundering, tax evasion, illegal trade in tobacco products and
385
CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
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corruption (Kovalchyk, 2020). Therefore, the study of similar experience
seems to be appropriate, which gives grounds to develop more dierentiated
approaches of preventive policy in S(F)EZ.
Conclusions
The conducted research gave grounds to draw a number of conclusions
on crime prevention in S(F)EZ.
It was established that research in this area lacks statistical data. The
existing studies are mainly applied in nature and are not included in the
context of economic crime prevention, and they also do not fully take into
account the peculiarities of the localization of zones in countries with a
transitive economy and legal system.
The appropriateness of combining economic crimes and other oences
into one criminological concept “crime in S(F)EZ” was conrmed based
on the generalization of the specic features of S(F)EZ as an economic
geographical entity. The need for understanding crime in the zones as an
economic organized criminal activity of a transnational nature is shown.
The connection between the economic regulations, the entities engaged
in crime prevention in the zone and the risk of criminal damage to the
activities of the S(F)EZ is emphasized.
It was conrmed that, in general, illegal trade and infringement of
intellectual property rights prevail in the crime structure in S(F)EZ.
However, the elaboration of statistical generalizations and the experience
of Ukraine as a state with a transitive economy and legal system gave
grounds for additional structuring of crime in the S(F) EZ depending on: a)
the division of zones into external/internal and b) features of the economic
system of the country where the zone is located.
It was showed that the specics of crime in S(F)EZ determine the
peculiarities of the entities engaged in crime prevention. It is proposed to
divide those entities into specialized and non-specialized depending on the
degree of involvement in crime prevention. At the same time, the leading
role of international actors and the active participation of the private sector
in preventive activities were emphasized.
Promising areas for combating crime in the S(F)EZ for countries with a
transitive economy and legal system, which take into account the identied
features of the entities engaged in crime prevention, were identied. This
should be facilitated by the improvement of the system of statistical record
of economic crimes and the introduction of new sources of information
about organized criminal groups.
386
Nataliia Veselovska, Stanislav Sieriebriak, Valerii Petkov, Igor Dovban y Andrii Udod
Crime prevention in special (free) economic zones
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