![]() Shootouts are down, as gangs consolidate control and focus on backroom deals. Russias crime lords are moving out of the constraints of the black market and taking over legitimate operations, like chemical factories, ports, and banks. The September 2006 slaying of Andrei Kozlov, top deputy at the Russian Central Bank and an anticorruption crusader, was a clear statement that the Russian mob will back down from no one. The Russians are willing to go after journalists, the police, and senior officials to an extent that would make other syndicates squeamish. He got his mayoral post when his opponent tripped over a grenade left outside his office.ĭistinguishing features: Ruthlessness. The recently arrested Vladimir Nikolayevs rsum is typical: member of Russian President Vladimir Putins governing party, mayor of Vladivostok, and owner of an empire of seafood, meat, and timber processing companies. Major players: No one organization seems dominantunless you count the Russian government itself, parts of which have been completely taken over. The big picture: As much as one tenth of Russias territory, and one quarter of its economy, may be under the sway of roughly 300,000 members in some 450 different Russian mob groups. ![]() Yamaguchi-gumis expansion into Tokyo, meanwhile, is provoking resistance from rivals and may lead to bloody turf wars. Several recent high-profile killings may mean the end of the governments tolerant approachand the police are now adding 10,000 extra officers to take on the gangs. Where theyre headed: Conflict with the authorities. Humanitarian gestures and an avoidance of civilian casualties, meanwhile, leave the public willing to look away from the groups violence. Flashy suits, distinctive tiger tattoos, and missing fingers (cut off as penance for failure) make for a romantic public image. The yakuza are the most open of crime syndicates, with official headquarters, nameplates, and business cards. This incarceration is his second stint in the 1970s, he did time for slicing up a rival with a sword.ĭistinguishing features: Publicity and style. ![]() Current godfather Kenichi Shinoda manages the criminal empire from jail. ![]() Headquartered in Kobe, the group has been growing fast through corporate-style acquisitions. Major players: The largest yakuza group is the Yamaguchi-gumi, whose 39,000 members account for nearly half of all Japanese gangsters. The big picture: With close ties to many politicians and right-wing pressure groups, Japans crime syndicates can operate without much fear of the law. ![]()
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