Main points

• Deep links are observed in several of these countries between high-level state actors and organised criminal groups. State actors there have reportedly been involved in criminal activities and have engaged low-level state actors to gain government contracts or monetary payment.
• The police, customs and border control institutions are particularly vulnerable to corruption in the region.
• A few of these countries are known as secrecy jurisdictions (or tax havens), and money laundering and tax evasion can be facilitated by high-level state actors, particularly through the use of their residency and citizenship investment schemes, which have come under heavy criticism by the international community for their use in facilitating illicit financial flows.