Transnational Organised Crime and Illicit Financial Flows: Nigeria, West Africa and the Global North

This study addresses transnational organised crime and illicit financial flows in Nigeria, West Africa and the Global North (i.e. Europe). Based on extensive documentary analysis and expert interviews conducted in the four countries (i.e. Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and the Gambia). It reveals the contemporary changes of organised crime in a global context. Having outlined the dynamics of global transnational organised crime, the study examines three specific organised crime groups in Nigeria. These are; human trafficking; drug trafficking and advance fee fraud (AFF) cybercrime related. Having considered the phenomenon of organised crime and its contemporary problems in Nigeria, the study turns to an evaluation of the regime against money laundering from a global perspective. It assesses some relevant global initiatives and instruments which combat the proceeds of organised crime in West Africa and Nigeria. The study introduces the conceptual frameworks using the rational choice theory to ‘frame’ organised crime offenders from Nigeria and the author uses Value, Accessability and Transaction (VAT) Model to explain the routine activities of the rational criminal actors from Nigeria before considering the anti-money laundering framework (i.e. the Financial Action Task Force 40 Recommendations) as the instruments to decrease the risk of organised crime financial transactions within the global jurisdictions. The exploration of cybernetics in this study offers a scientific model called AntiMoney Laundering Transaction Validation Model with aim of providing a solution which strengthens the effectiveness of the anti-money laundering (AML, hereinafter) regimes in Nigeria, developing economies and globally. Finally, the thesis concludes that those international initiatives, recommendations and the instruments of soft-laws from developed countries to combat the illicit financial flows of organised crime in developing economies cannot be effective without providing solutions to the impediments affecting the curbing of illicit financial flows from organised crime in developing countries, such as Nigeria