less a triumph for Russia’s justice system than the final stages of a power shift from the criminal gangs that were once the country’s ultimate arbiters to official government structures that nevertheless remain perforated by criminality and corruption.
Vladimir Barsukov founded the St. Petersburg-based Tumbov clan after the
He came of age during the raucous early days of Russian capitalism, parlaying underworld contacts made as a bouncer in
With government and law enforcement floundering, Mr. Barsukov and his gang acted with impunity, (St. Petersburg mob expert Vadim) Volkov and other experts say, opening casinos and strip clubs amid the imperial grandeur of St. Petersburg and muscling their way into some of Russia’s wealthiest industries, including oil and natural gas.
He was at the wheel of his Mercedes on June 1, 1994, when an assassin sprayed the car with bullets. His bodyguard was killed and Mr. Barsukov lost his right arm and a kidney in the attack, which was attributed to a rival faction of his gang. He spent about a month in a coma but miraculously survived, and then consolidated control over his band.
But around 2000, the rules began to change. A former political functionary in
Like a Russian John Gotti, Mr. Barsukov curried public sympathy by using his substantial fortune to support science, the arts and the Russian Orthodox Church. Shortly before his arrest, he used his criminal connections and violent reputation, according to news reports, to win the release of two children who had been kidnapped for ransom from a prominent
Meanwhile, he continued to intimidate opponents while using his contacts in the police and tax service for illegal business takeovers, prosecutors said. His activities ultimately put him in direct conflict with
In August 2007, 300
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Brown: Overhaul to Combat OC
The UK will overhaul its failing Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA) in an attempt to bring down rampant organized crime.
Speaking on crime for the first time since he became prime minister two years ago, Gordon Brown said the new strategy would include a new approach to e-crime and more aggressive police work to shut down business run by known criminals. A new police report covered by the Times of London last month revealed SOCA’s inadequacies three years after it was formed as
Last month The Times revealed that police have identified 2,800 organised criminal gangs, nearly three times the number previously acknowledged. The report from HM Inspectorate of Constabulary admitted that British law enforcement is ill equipped to deal with the threat that they pose.
The report stated: “The
“The reach of organised criminality is more extensive than previously acknowledged ... from local teams of criminals engaged in drug dealing and acquisitive crime through to international gangs committing acts of large-scale importation, kidnap, fraud and corruption.”
The report contrasted the nationwide spread of organised crime with the disjointed reaction of police and Soca. Britain’s response was described as blighted by a lack of direction, inadequate surveillance and under-investment in intelligence, analysis and enforcement.
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