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Serious Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Evidence (SOC ACE) @soc-ace.bsky.social · 31m

SOC ACE researcher @jessmarindavis.bsky.social joined CANADALAND’s Is Iran Behind Attacks in Canada? podcast to discuss Iran-linked attacks, state-backed proxy networks and terrorist financing. shorturl.at/PXcrc

shorturl.at

Is Iran Behind Attacks in Canada?

CANADALAND · Episode

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Serious Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Evidence (SOC ACE) @soc-ace.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

How can illicit assets move through legitimate economies? Research by Dr Xu Peng has been republished in a UK Parliament inquiry, examining how criminal economies exploit legitimate channels to move illicit assets into the UK. shorturl.at/wRJVk

shorturl.at

https://shorturl.at/wRJVk

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Serious Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Evidence (SOC ACE) @soc-ace.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Research by @hamarquette.bsky.social, Dr Alexander Kupatadze & Ian Tennant features in the first panel of @rusi.bsky.social The Changing Face of Organised Crime event, exploring how technological & geopolitical change are reshaping organised crime. shorturl.at/m486S

shorturl.at

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RUSI @rusi.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

In August, a CIA director and a Vatican diplomat both visited Moscow. Only one made headlines. Our latest RUSI Commentary argues that Russia's claims over Ukraine's churches are a security issue policymakers can't overlook.

rusi.org

Moscow's Other Front: Why Ukraine's Churches Are a Security Issue

A CIA director and the Vatican's foreign minister were in Moscow in August. The spy chief drew the coverage; the Archbishop's visit showed religion belongs in any analysis and resolution of Russia's war.

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Faculty of Humanities @uomhums.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

What can objects left behind by conflict teach us about peace? ☮️ As the UN calls on countries to #InvestInPeace this #InternationalDayofPeace, take a closer look at the The University of Manchester's Humanitarian Archive and some of its stories: ow.ly/QkOM50ZPaLX HCRInstitute | #Research

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Serious Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Evidence (SOC ACE) @soc-ace.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

shorturl.at

Is Iran Behind Attacks in Canada?

CANADALAND · Episode

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Serious Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Evidence (SOC ACE) @soc-ace.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

How are states using organised crime to pursue covert objectives? Research by @hamarquette.bsky.social & @matthewrr.bsky.social maps state-crime relationships, showing why operational responses alone may fall short without addressing the political economy that enables them. @matthewrr.bsky.social

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RUSI @rusi.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Can a financial integrity system built for multilateral cooperation still work in a world split by war and rivalry? RUSI's Kinga Redlowska explores this question in the latest RUSI Commentary.

rusi.org

Illicit Finance in a Fragmenting World: Can the Global System Keep Pace?

Today’s financial integrity architecture took shape in an era of multilateral cooperation. Can it still be effective in a world divided by war and geopolitical rivalry?

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RUSI @rusi.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

77,316 general aviation flights arrived in the UK from abroad in 2025. Private jets. Light aircraft. Helicopters. Borders crossed outside the familiar system of scheduled commercial departure gates and passport queues. Cathy Haenlein maps the border security blind spot above us.

rusi.org

Organised Crime and General Aviation in the UK and Benelux

This paper examines how organised crime exploits general aviation and drones in the UK and the Benelux, revealing critical security vulnerabilities.

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Serious Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Evidence (SOC ACE) @soc-ace.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

How can illicit finance become a state power tool? Research by Professor David Lewis & Dr Tena Prelec in @tandfresearch.bsky.social examines how illicit financial flows support Russia’s foreign & security policy, from political interference & information campaigns to military ops shorturl.at/UenRW

shorturl.at

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Serious Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Evidence (SOC ACE) @soc-ace.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

What happens when corruption shapes access to welfare? New research by Dr Zahid Mumtaz & Professor Caryn Peiffer in @tandfresearch.bsky.social examines informal welfare systems in Pakistan and the risks of disrupting fragile support. shorturl.at/5rHoz

tandfonline.com

Browse all journals

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Serious Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Evidence (SOC ACE) @soc-ace.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

How does organised crime turn legitimate trade to its advantage? New SOC ACE research by Dr Alexander Kupatadze examines how criminal networks exploit legitimate supply chains to trade commodities including consumer goods, tobacco and fuel. www.socace-research.org.uk/publications...

socace-research.org.uk

The Overlooked Economy: The Rise of Criminal Markets in Legal Commodities — SOC ACE

New research examines how organised crime profits from counterfeit goods, tobacco, pharmaceuticals and global supply chains with lower risks.

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RUSI @rusi.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

‘The recent donation of £72 million to Reform UK from two crypto billionaires brings into sharp relief growing concerns about the potential for mega donors to create undue political influence,’ says Eliza Lockhart, @cfs-rusi.bsky.social. Read about our Cryptocurrencies in UK Politics project.

bit.ly

Cryptocurrencies in UK Politics

Our work examines the risk of opaque, foreign or malign influence entering UK politics via cryptocurrency donations.

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Serious Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Evidence (SOC ACE) @soc-ace.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

What looks like a digital scam operation often relies on physical networks. New SOC ACE research by Dr Xu Peng examines how scam compounds in the China–Myanmar borderlands depend on trade, recruitment, infrastructure, finance and weak governance. www.socace-research.org.uk/publications...

socace-research.org.uk

Scam Logistics: Building and Governing the Digital Illicit Economy in the China–Myanmar Borderland — SOC ACE

Explore how online scam compounds in the China–Myanmar borderlands are sustained through governance, infrastructure and cross-border criminal networks.

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Serious Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Evidence (SOC ACE) @soc-ace.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

What happens in conflict-affected borderlands doesn’t stay at the margins. New SOC ACE research by Prof Jonathan Goodhand, Dr Patrick Meehan and Dr Xu Peng examines how borderlands are integrated into political economies, including through illicit wealth. www.socace-research.org.uk/publications...

socace-research.org.uk

Margins and Metropoles: Illicit Economies and the Making of Uneven Development — SOC ACE

Illicit economies are not confined to the margins of global development. This research examines how frontier and borderland regions are connected to rapidly developing metropolitan hubs through…

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Serious Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Evidence (SOC ACE) @soc-ace.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

The latest SOC ACE bulletin is now live. Explore new research on states and organised crime, illicit economies and uneven development, plus analysis of scam compounds, Russian illicit trade and the paramilitary–organised crime nexus. www.socace-research.org.uk/news/socace-...

socace-research.org.uk

SOC ACE September 2026 Newsletter — SOC ACE

This month’s bulletin brings together new SOC ACE research on the changing relationship between states and organised crime, the political economies that sustain illicit activity, and the uneven develo...

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Serious Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Evidence (SOC ACE) @soc-ace.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Tomorrow at 9am, Prof Heather Marquette will lead Rethinking the Real Politics of Organised Crime in an Era of Growing Scarcity at ECPR General Conference 2026 in Krakow. The panel explores political settlements and feasible responses to organised crime, with Dr Max Gallien as discussant. #ECPRGC26

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Serious Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Evidence (SOC ACE) @soc-ace.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

SOC ACE researcher Matthew Redhead interviewed by journalist Gordon Corera for BBC Radio4 documentary Playing Spies. Petty criminals and serious organised crime are now being used as tools of spycraft & state threats. Broadcast Sunday 30 November. Listen to it www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

bbc.co.uk

Currently - Playing Spies - BBC Sounds

Gordon Corera investigates Russia's new front line of amateur espionage.

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Serious Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Evidence (SOC ACE) @soc-ace.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Research from @Kathryn Westmore and RUSI @cfs-rusi.bsky.social: Flying Money, Hidden Threat. Chinese money laundering organisations (CMLOs) use tradition & modern methods; answering China’s capital controls, diaspora, & criminality. A state threat? Read: bit.ly/4ieUcQ9 Project page: bit.ly/3JyGk6m

static1.squarespace.com

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Serious Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Evidence (SOC ACE) @soc-ace.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

SOC ACE and RUSI researcher Kathryn Westmore launches her research on Chinese Money Laundering Organisations (CMLOs) at RUSI on 12/11/25. Exploring CMLOs in the West and asking 'are acting on the Chinese state behalf'. Register to join - bit.ly/48Pp1bs See Kathryn’s SOC ACE page - bit.ly/3Jw1kuf

my.rusi.org

Flying Money, Hidden Threat: The Growth of Chinese Money Laundering Organisations

Join us for a panel discussion launching our research paper investigating the proliferation and success of Chinese money laundering operations.

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Serious Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Evidence (SOC ACE) @soc-ace.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

Militarised responses to SOC are a policy conundrum. The Guardian reports US naval strikes on Venezuelan 'narco-terrorists' - bit.ly/3W2NG4C See Luke Kelly's SOC ACE annotated bibliography Militarised Approaches to Serious and Organised Crime: Approaches and Policy Implications - bit.ly/4nKBNMM

theguardian.com

Trump says six were killed in US strike on another boat allegedly carrying drugs near Venezuela

UN has condemned US strikes on small boats it believes to be trafficking drugs as extrajudicial executions

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Serious Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Evidence (SOC ACE) @soc-ace.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

Wagner-sponsored arsonists covicted; UK citizens paid by Russian proxy to burn down a London warehouse storing aid for Ukriane - highlights the role of serious organised crime and state threats. Read @cfs-rusi.bsky.social Rusi's Matthew Redhead on State Threats at Socace's site - bit.ly/4eK7HW6 -

bit.ly

Old Wine, New Bottles? The Challenge of State Threats — SOC ACE

From the combination of traditional intelligence tradecraft with new technologies, attempts to innovate, a willingness to take greater risks, and a growing willingness to contract out activities to bo...

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Prof Heather Marquette @hamarquette.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

📢 And watch this space for more research and analysis coming out of this work, with a series of synthesis papers from kicking off soon! New papers on Russia, China, Iran, DPRK, cyber, organised crime, illicit finance, information manipulation, proliferation beyond the West, concepts and more. 5/5

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Prof Heather Marquette @hamarquette.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

4. Shape a coherent, comprehensive and prioritised set of responses 5. Take an approach based on partnership, both domestically and internationally. Lots of implications for the UK's new National Security Strategy #NSS2025 and beyond. 4/5

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Prof Heather Marquette @hamarquette.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

The note also sets out 5 implications for future policy, based on @matthewrr.bsky.social's research: 1. Avoid wishful thinking and ignorance when assessing threats & vulnerabilities 2. Understand opponents' thinking 3. Ask whether the current resilience-focused model of response is enough 3/5

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Prof Heather Marquette @hamarquette.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

The briefing note sets out: - what state threats are - why we seem to be having a state threats 'moment' - mapping state threats across covert & clandestine measures, origins and execution, patterns of activity & motives - novelty and effectiveness of state threats - state threats futures. 2/5

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Prof Heather Marquette @hamarquette.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

Out now, a new @soc-ace.bsky.social briefing note on @matthewrr.bsky.social's big paper on #statethreats. This research builds on longstanding collaboration with @cfs-rusi.bsky.social. Both the must read paper & brief are at bit.ly/44mF262. 1/5

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Serious Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Evidence (SOC ACE) @soc-ace.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Our last newsletter for 2024 has just gone out, and it's a big one! 👇 Sign up to receive our newsletter at socace-research.us17.list-manage.com/subscribe?id...

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Governance & Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence (GI ACE) @giace.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

Insights from the latest research by Daniel Haberly: 🚨 Mismatch in financial regulatory focus ⚖️ Disconnect between AML/CFT compliance & transparency 🌐 Regulatory gaps in major economies (USA, China) 🔗 RIFF dataset: bit.ly/3ZMcHDL 🔗 Working paper: bit.ly/3ZMcHDL #GIACE #TransparencyMatters

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Prof Heather Marquette @hamarquette.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

Excited to see this great article from Suzi Ring & Martin Arnold in the @financialtimes.com yesterday covering new @soc-ace.bsky.social & @cfs-rusi.bsky.social research by Eliza Lockhart on potential financial rewards for economic crime whistleblowers. 👇 www.ft.com/content/2ebb...

ft.com

UK should pay whistleblowers to cut financial crime, says think-tank

Royal United Services Institute says scheme would reduce those who take information to US agencies

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Serious Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Evidence (SOC ACE) @soc-ace.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

📢 A new #openaccess paper from @samibensassi.bsky.social and Arisyi Raz on whether or not #FATF is an effective tool for combatting trade-related #fraud. Click below for the journal article 👇 To find out more about the research project - www.socace-research.org.uk/projects/23-...

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Serious Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Evidence (SOC ACE) @soc-ace.bsky.social · 29/11/2024

📢 A new podcast from GI-TOC and the 2nd in a series on SOC ACE's research project on Colombia's #TotalPeace plan. The team discuss the 2022 truce signed by 2 gangs in the coastal town of Buenaventura & what the research is telling us about the impact on violence. globalinitiative.net/analysis/dee...

globalinitiative.net

Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime - The Podcast

The Deep Dive podcast takes an in depth look at transnational organized crime investigations from the Global Initiative, drawing on the range of expertise from the GI Network of over 500 experts.

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Maria Nizzero @marianizzero.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

Kicking off my Bluesky account with a new hot off-the-press publication in the @rusi.bsky.social RUSI Journal: 'Illicit Finance as a National Security Threat: Balancing Security and Unintended Consequences'. www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1... #illicitfinance #nationalsecurity

tandfonline.com

Illicit Finance as a National Security Threat: Balancing Security and Unintended Consequences

In recent decades, illicit finance has evolved from being considered an adjunct to other security threats, such as organised crime or terrorism, to a security threat in its own right. For an issue ...

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Serious Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Evidence (SOC ACE) @soc-ace.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

📢 Launch event for new research by @cfs-rusi.bsky.social's Eliza Lockhart on the impact of financial rewards for whistleblowers in the fight against #economiccrime. Click below for the link to register for the event. 👇 Find out more about the research: www.socace-research.org.uk/projects/whi...

socace-research.org.uk

The Role of Financial Rewards for Whistleblowers in the Fight Against Economic Crime — SOC ACE

This research analyses the impact of whistleblower reward programmes and scrutinises whether the concerns that have been raised regarding their implementation have eventuated in practice. Furthermore,...

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Jess Davis @jessmarindavis.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

"JNIM, said it ambushed a convoy of mercenaries working for the Wagner Group on Thursday in the Mopti region, killing fighters and burning vehicles." apnews.com/article/mali...

apnews.com

At least 6 mercenaries with Russia's Wagner group killed in an extremist attack in Mali

At least six Russian mercenaries were killed in an attack by an al-Qaida-linked group in central Mali, according to a statement by the extremists on its media platform.

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Serious Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Evidence (SOC ACE) @soc-ace.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

A second podcast episode in a series looking at research on Colombia's #TotalPeace plan is coming soon! In the meantime, here's the first episode from 28th Oct for those who would like to catch up with what the research team have been doing. 👇 globalinitiative.net/analysis/dee...

globalinitiative.net

Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime - The Podcast

The Deep Dive podcast takes an in depth look at transnational organized crime investigations from the Global Initiative, drawing on the range of expertise from the GI Network of over 500 experts.

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Serious Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Evidence (SOC ACE) @soc-ace.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

New SOC ACE researchers Starter Pack! 🤩 Keep on top of their great research on organised crime, illicit finance, kleptocracy, corruption etc with SOC ACE, and beyond. 👇 Will update as & when more people join 🦋. 👀 go.bsky.app/Tfr9XtB

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