Armenian mafia

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This article is about ethnic Armenian organized crime in general, based mainly in Armenia and Russia. For the Armenian-American criminal organization sometimes known as the "Armenian Mafia", see Armenian Power.
Armenian mafia
Founding locationArmenia
TerritoryArmenia, Russia and post-Soviet states, United States, Australia[1]
EthnicityArmenian
Criminal activitiesExtortion, racketeering, assault, contract killing, money laundering, bribery, embezzlement, tax evasion, drug trafficking[1]
AlliesItalian-American Mafia[2]
Mexican Mafia[2]
Russian mafia[2]
Lebanese mafia
Greek mafia
Calabrian mafia[1]
RivalsAzerbaijani mafia
Turkish mafia
Pakistani mafia

The Armenian mafia (Armenian: Հայկական մաֆիա) is a general term for organized criminal gangs that consist of ethnic Armenians. In Armenia, the structure is organized in clans called yekhpayrutyuns (եղբայրություններ, brotherhoods).[3]

International activity

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Germany

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In 2009 and 2011, the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) launched the investigation against the Armenian mafia in Germany. At that time there was a suspicion of drug trafficking, which could not be proven yet.[4] In the meantime, the BKA found that there are at least two Armenian clans in Erfurt at war with each other.[5]

On July 13, 2014, two men were badly injured when two clans got into an argument in which shots were fired in Erfurt.[6] MDR Thüringen reported that after several months of investigations, the BKA arrested 31-year-old car dealer Arthur Z. and 26-year-old Karo S. on suspicion of drug trafficking, as during the raids, police discovered 35 kilograms of marijuana.[7]

The BKA's report on Fatil concluded that Armenian mafia really exists in Germany, possesses considerable financial resources together with other criminal groups from the former Soviet Union and poses a threat to the rule of law.[8]

On 7 November 2018, German MDR TV prepared to broadcast a 30-minute documentary film called "Godfather in Germany: The Armenian Mafia and Thieves-In-Law" about the existence of an Armenian mafia and its activities. A Berlin court issued an injunction against parts of this production and barred its broadcast.[9]

Armenian criminal groups in Germany were particularly involved in drug trafficking, counterfeiting, gambling, and the organization of illegal migration.[10][11]

France

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French Gendarmerie with on-the-field support of Europol targeted suspects across France believed to be part of an Armenian mafia group involved in large-scale poly-criminal activities, including cigarette smuggling, extortion and money laundering.[12] Over 27 house searches were carried out in Rennes, Gap, St. Etienne, Nancy, Strasbourg, Haguenau, Reims, Chalon-Sur-Saône, Paris, Nantes, Limoges and Brest. As a result, 21 suspects were arrested, including an individual believed to be a high-ranking member of this mafia group. Some €23 000 in cash was seized at the premises, alongside over 2 000 packs of cigarettes, 23 kg of raw tobacco and 6 weapons.[12]

In December 2018, the French police conducted an operation codenamed VORS 69-01 against a criminal syndicate operating in France and Belgium, which included Armenian and Georgian mafiosi. The syndicate was involved in burglaries, drug trafficking, and document forgery. More than 300 police officers and aircraft were involved in the operation. Among those arrested were 9 Georgian citizens, two of whom were thieves in law.[13]

Spain

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Spain's Civil Guard arrested 15 people in an investigation into tennis match-fixing.[14] Europol released information that 11 house searches had been carried out in Spain in which 167,000 euros (£151,000) in cash were seized, along with a shotgun. It added that more than 50 electronic devices, credit cards, five luxury vehicles and documentation related to the case were also seized. Forty-two bank accounts have also been frozen.[citation needed] Europol said in a statement that "A criminal group of Armenian individuals used a professional tennis player, who acted as the link between the gang and the rest of the criminal group". Spain's Civil Guard added that "once they got the bribe, the Armenian members went to the places where the matches were being played to make sure the player went through with what they had agreed, making the most of their imposing size".[14]

In 2018, National Police of Spain arrested 129 people from a Thief in law Armenian criminal organization, and carried out 74 house searches. Among the criminals arrested were 7 Thieves in Law, who were involved into drug trafficking, arms trade, tobacco smuggling, money laundering, corruption in sports bookmaking, and other property crimes committed throughout Europe. The suspects have close ties with tennis, beach volleyball, basketball, and hockey players who were bribed in at least 20 sport matches. The organization also had strong ties with other criminals who live along Europe, and used several dummy companies for their money laundering purposes.[15][better source needed] According to Pedro Felicio, Chief of EUROPOL´s Economic and Property Crime, that would be "one of the biggest police hits ever to this kind of criminal organizations"[16]

United States

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Further information: Armenian Power

In September 1995, members of the Armenian mafia were arrested by the FBI in North Hollywood accused of racketeering, extortion and other scams.[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Drugs are trafficked into Australia from Armenia, Sydney paper claims".
  2. ^ a b c Roots of the Armenian Power Gang Richard Valdemar, policemag.com (March 1, 2011)
  3. ^ "Mean Streets: A rare look at Armenia's Capital clans" - An ArmeniaNow Special Report by Vahan Ishkhanyan. March 3rd, 2006, ArmeniaNow. (Retrieved from the WebArchive, July 9th 2006)
  4. ^ mdr.de, Armenische Mafia in Thüringen: Landeskriminalamt deckt Drogenhandel auf | MDR.DE (in German), retrieved 2018-11-27
  5. ^ FOCUS Online, "Gewaltexzesse in Thüringen: TV-Reportage zeigt Machenschaften brutaler Mafia-Clans", FOCUS Online (in German), retrieved 2018-11-27
  6. ^ Maik Baumgärtner, Axel Hemmerling, Ludwig Kendzia, Martin Knobbe (2018-11-07), "Organisierte Kriminalität in Deutschland: Mafia trifft Mafia", Spiegel Online (in German), retrieved 2018-11-27{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ mdr.de. "Armenische Mafia in Thüringen: Landeskriminalamt deckt Drogenhandel auf | MDR.DE". www.mdr.de (in German). Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  8. ^ "Bundeskriminalamt: Ermittler fürchten "Gefährdung des Rechtsstaats" durch armenische Mafia". Spiegel Online. 2018-11-02. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  9. ^ Baumgartner, Pete (9 November 2018). "Armenia Backs Berlin Envoy Despite Reported Ties To Mafia In Germany". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  10. ^ Wie die armenische Mafia in Deutschland vorgeht
  11. ^ MAFIA-SCHIESSEREI IN ERFURT: PROMINENTE BOXER TAUCHEN IN AKTEN AUF
  12. ^ a b "French Gendarmerie capture key members of Armenian mafia". Europol. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  13. ^ SWAT team, air support and 300+ officers crack down on Armenian-Georgian-Azerbaijani organized crime syndicate in France
  14. ^ a b "Spain arrests 15 people in tennis match-fixing investigation". 2019-01-10. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  15. ^ "Operation KUS targets Armenian and Georgian 'mafia' in Spain". en.crimerussia.com. Archived from the original on 2018-12-03. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  16. ^ "Europol felicita a Policía y Mossos por la detención de siete 'ladrones en ley' de una red criminal georgiana-armenia". Europa Press. July 5, 2018.
  17. ^ FBI Arrests 11 in Black Market Fuel Ring: North Hollywood man, self-described 'godfather' of Russian Armenian mafia, is accused of running organization Paul Lieberman and Frank B. Williams, Los Angeles Times (September 13, 1995) Archived April 16, 2024, at the Wayback Machine
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