| Project Detail |
The high value and scarcity of natural resources increasingly attracts criminal entrepreneurs operating in the legal economy. The laundering of natural resources is a prime example where illegally obtained natural resources are converted into legal products. Consequently, consumers buy products, such as a gold wedding ring, a hardwood floor, or endangered species, as ‘legitimate’ on the international market and unknowingly become part of a trade with devastating environmental effects. To facilitate laundering, crime groups interact with corporations and state actors, as joint crime ventures. The proposed research aims to understand how and why joint crime ventures launder natural resources and what the environmental impact is. Contemporary developments in environmental crime networks signal the expansion of grey areas of business where the separation between conventional and non-conventional criminals is no longer appropriate for understanding and dealing with the increasing complexities of environmental crime. Therefore, it is essential to develop an innovative approach to fill this theoretical and empirical gap. By analysing coercive, economic, and political interactions between crime groups, corporations, and state actors, this study will build a new line of research and reveal the causes, incentives, and environmental harms of laundering natural resources. The environmental impact of laundering is illustrated by rapidly disappearing rainforests, large-scale pollution, and the mass extinction of species. Yet, laundering natural resources has been the subject of rather limited study. This research introduces a novel combination of cluster analysis of environmental crime cases, multi-sited field research, and crime script analysis that ensures a unique mixed-method perspective. The insights will be crucial for scientists, policymakers, corporations, NGOs, and law enforcement to develop inventive solutions to prevent and tackle the laundering of natural resources. |
