"TRANSNATIONAL" AND "ETHNIC" CRIME: RELATIONSHIP CONCEPTS

The article discusses the relationship between the concepts of transnational and ethnic crime. It has been established that, according to individual characteristics, these concepts are mutually absorbable, but in some cases it can be stated that there are significant differences. Currently, there are a number of features in the activities of criminal organizations created on the basis of ethnicity, which requires further scientific research to study and classify this phenomenon. The essence of the concepts of transnational and ethnic crime is investigated, their characteristic features are identified and the criteria by which they are separated from each other are defined. This is extremely necessary when taking into account by state authorities in the development of relevant concepts of combating crime and in the activities of national law enforcement and international specialized agencies dealing with this issue. A thorough analysis of scientific sources, including foreign ones, made it possible to single out two approaches in understanding organized crime as a phenomenon, namely, to determine transnational crime based on a systemic description of criminal organizations or through a description of the characteristics of this activity. In addition, the researcher found that ethnic criminal groups is a subspecies of transnational. It was also stated that the ethnic structure itself can act as a criterion for distinguishing certain types of them. The ethnic factor stands out as the main one by practically all researchers, both transnational and ethnic criminal groups. The author concluded that the concept of “ethnic” crime was formally included in the concept of “transnational” crime, taking into account the fact that any organized criminal group created exclusively from among people of one nationality (tribe, nationality, etc.) carries out criminal activity on internationally, can be considered a transnational ethnic gang. The exceptions are ethnic groups operating locally within one country or a part of it and do not have international criminal connections.