Search results

The market in licit recreational drugs is continuing to grow, both in the UK and elsewhere, and the internet has been acknowledged as a key factor in enabling this rapid expansion over the last few years. This is particularly true of the recent rise in popularity of the substance mephedrone (4‐methylmethcathinone) and related cathinones. Keeping up to date with these new drugs and emerging trends is a challenge for both professionals and users, particularly given the relative paucity of balanced and reliable information available and the potential for misinformation to be widely disseminated. This article examines the transmission of inaccurate information in relation to mephedrone and substituted cathinones, and discusses the implication of this for harm reduction and future research, by looking at the results of the European Commission funded Psychonaut Web Mapping project, which used online resources to detect emerging trends, monitor their diffusion, and develop a reasonably accurate profile of these new psychoactive compounds.

Informal street vending is traditionally widespread and studied concerning developing countries. Nevertheless, recently, interest in the study of this practice has also increased regarding specific developed countries. The aim of the article is to contribute to overcoming the tendency to investigate this informal economy sector with different analytical lenses between the global South and global North and to highlight the usefulness of analyzing the phenomenon from a comparative perspective.

Therefore, the article represents a comparative review of the existing literature on informal street vending considering both the global South and global North.

The analysis revealed similarities and differences in the characteristics the phenomenon assumes in the two areas of the world while at the same time, showing how there are aspects mainly explored in the literature of southern countries and little explored in the literature of northern countries and vice-versa.

This analytical attempt allows us to highlight any gaps present in the literature, which may represent the basis for future comparative research on the topic. Comparative research will improve both theoretical and empirical knowledge of the phenomenon.

On the one hand, the article represents an innovative literature review attempt, as it explicitly compares the street vending between developing and developed countries. On the other hand, it represents the first academic contribution to review street vending in the global North.

This paper aims to review some of the current challenges that international money laundering schemes are posing in the Chinese banking sector. Anti-money laundering (AML) systems in China are relatively new, and customer due diligence checks and other AML systems are underdeveloped in some areas.

The paper considers a particular case example of a multi-company organization that has known links to China. This company has been the target of both European and US investigations for suspected embezzlement and money laundering, and yet is still in operation.

The paper considers the complexities of this organization and how a seemly innocent link to a used clothing charity can fund an international organization spanning several countries. The paper offers a list of basic indicators of risk that could be applied to a risk-based system used within the Chinese banking context by using this group as an example.

The paper uses empirical and academic studies from other authors working in this region and supports many of the findings of the need to develop stronger risk-based, as opposed to rules-based, systems for managing AML risk assessment. Previous work by the author and suggestions from other authors are both used to suggest a basic framework for AML risk assessment. The paper concludes by reiterating the fact that China, like all other countries, is now operating in an international banking context, in much the same way that international organized crime is also operating at a global level.