Assessing Free Trade Zone Integrity
by invitation
Brief
Illegal trade takes diverse forms, which are frequently interlinked. In many cases, crossovers exist in the trafficking of drugs, humans and weapons, corruption and money laundering. Commonly, such crossovers arise from the exploitation of tested routes and infrastructure; this applies not least to free trade zones (FTZs), as incubators of many such intersections.
The criminal risks associated with FTZs have been studied extensively, leading to repeated calls for more consistent enforcement of applicable regulations, especially Annex D to the Revised Kyoto Convention. Yet, policymakers and private sector actors struggle to assess the risk level of individual FTZs and the effectiveness of mitigation measures.
This Project seeks to address the discrepancy between a high awareness that FTZs pose risks at the macro-level, and a limited ability to evaluate and understand those risks – and the convergence between them – at the micro-level. The first of its kind, the project will provide a mechanism to enable authorities and business partners to assess overall risk levels in individual FTZs, moving beyond narrow concerns of specific crime types within them.
Format
The workshop will take place in the format of a moderated roundtable discussion. All participants are invited to take active part in the discussion and share their views on the issues identified in the Agenda (see below). This will enable participants to learn from each other and develop common, cross-sectoral approaches to safeguarding the integrity of Moroccan free-trade zones.
For more information, please contact Mohamed Abrouq at : m.abrouq@policycenter.ma
| AGENDA | |
| 14:30 |
Registration & Welcoming Coffee |
| 15:00-15:10 |
Introductory remarks Alexandria Reid, Research Analyst, Organised Crime and Policing, RUSI Rida Lyammouri, Senior Fellow, Policy Center for the New South |
| 15:10-16:30 |
Roundtable 1: Understanding and Mitigating the Risks Moderator: Anton Moiseienko, Research Fellow, Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, RUSI Discussion questions: • Morocco’s free-trade zones facilitate significant amounts of legitimate trade. What do we know about related risks of illicit trade and financial crime? • What key policies and measures are in place to address those risks? • Whose responsibility is it to prevent illicit trade and financial crime in Morocco’s free-trade zones? |
| 16:30-16:45 |
Coffee break |
| 16:45-18:00 |
Roundtable 2: Future Priorities Moderator: Alexandria Reid, Research Analyst, Organised Crime and Policing, RUSI Discussion questions: • How can facilitating legitimate trade be reconciled with preventing illicit trade and financial crime? • What are the key future priorities in doing so? • What is the role of private sector and non-governmental organisations? |
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Rida Lyammouri, Senior Fellow, Policy Center for the New South
Mr. Lyammouri is Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, previously known as OCP Policy Center, focusing on geopolitics and international relations issues. He has more than eight years of experience focusing on the North Africa and Sahel regions. His extensive experience supporting governmental and non-governmental organizations includes the areas of international development, security, countering violent extremism, and counter-terrorism. Mr. Lyammouri has elaborated more than 200 in-depth research reports that cultivate deeper understanding of regional and domestic challenges. He has also frequently made programming recommendations to address various security, economic, and political challenges related to a specific region or a country in Africa. Mr. Lyammouri has also presented as an expert at various conferences, including at the National Defence University (NDU), the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), in addition to multiple contributions to well-known media outlets such as BBC, NPR, and France24. Mr. Lyammouri holds a Master of Public Policy with an emphasis on National Security from the school of Policy, Government, and International Affairs at George Mason University.
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Anton Moiseienko, Research Fellow, Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, RUSI
Anton is a Research Fellow at RUSI’s Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies. His current and recent research covers a range of financial crime issues, including money laundering via online businesses, corruption in the UK and overseas, the intersection between cybercrime and money laundering, and financial crime risks posed by free trade zones.
Anton holds a PhD in law from Queen Mary University of London and a master’s degree in law from the University of Cambridge. His book Corruption and Targeted Sanctions was published by Brill | Nijhoff. He is also a co-editor of Transnational Crime: European and Chinese Perspectives (Routledge, 2018), Criminal Networks and Law Enforcement (Routledge, 2019) and Research Handbook on Transnational Crime (Edward Elgar, 2019). Anton’s articles have appeared in leading peer-reviewed journals such as the International & Comparative Law Quarterly and Criminal Law Review.
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Alexandria Reid, Research Analyst, Organised Crime and Policing
Alexandria Reid is a Research Analyst in the Organised Crime and Policing team at RUSI. Her research covers a range of topics related to serious and organised crime, including environmental security, illicit trade and related illicit financial flows. She is Project Officer for the Strategic Hub for Organised Crime Research (SHOC) at RUSI, and a Guest Lecturer for the Marjan Centre for the Study of Conflict and the Environment, King’s College London, where she teaches gender and environmental security.
Alexandria holds an MA (Distinction) in Conflict, Security and Development from King’s College London. Prior to joining RUSI, she was a Programme Officer for the Centre for Grand Strategy and an MoD-funded Research Administrator at the King’s Centre for Military Health Research. She holds a BA in War Studies from King’s College London, where she was awarded the Sir Michael Howard Award for Excellence 2013-2016.