Power and trust networks in the organisation of crime in Ukraine

This chapter discusses the nature of organised criminality and its dynamics in Ukraine and considers the interaction between the underworld and ‘upper-world’ in the light of trust and power networks in Ukraine. It focuses on the gambling sector in Ukraine and more specifically on the ‘dark’ or illegal side. The chapter aims to elaborate on available academic and official data on organised crime in Ukraine and outlines the meaning of the term ‘organised crime’ in the Ukrainian context. It also discusses some conceptual issues of trust in organised crime literature before moving on to describe the criminalisation of the gambling industry in Ukraine. The chapter explores the qualitative data regarding factors that are conducive to the development of illegal gambling networks and explains empirical research on the development of gambling networks in one Ukrainian city. Since 1991, the Ukrainian gambling industry has followed two parallel courses: legal and illegal.