Extortion is the illegal acquisition of money, property or favors through force or threat. It differs from blackmail and robbery as it involves threats of violence or other illegal acts. Organized crime often uses extortion, but individuals and officials can also commit it. Proving allegations can be difficult.
Extortion is a crime involving the unlawful acquisition of money, property or favors through the use of force or the threat of force. Historically, the term was defined as an abuse of privilege by a public official who used his or her position to obtain money or favors, but today people at all levels of society could potentially commit extortion. The penalties vary according to the specifics of the offence. In some countries, it is treated particularly seriously because it is linked to organized crime, and special laws are sometimes designed to make it easier to prosecute and punish extortion.
To the casual ear, extortion can sound a lot like blackmail, where people use a threat to demand payment or favors, and robbery, where a criminal takes something by force. However, extortion is slightly different from both of these crimes. In blackmail, someone threatens to do something completely legal, such as post a series of photographs, with the blackmailer offering a payment to avoid exposure and humiliation. Extortion is completely illegal, as it involves threats of violence or other illegal acts.
In a robbery, the violence is very real, and also very immediate. In extortion, the violence can never go beyond the threat stage, assuming the extorted person pays. For example, if someone is threatened with a gun and ordered to hand over all valuables, it is a robbery. If, on the other hand, a criminal enters a store and threatens to shoot the salesman’s family unless the criminal receives a share of the store’s revenue each week, it is extortion.
Organized crime is perhaps the most famous user of extortion. For example, members of the Mafia have historically demanded “protection coins” from businesses, suggesting that if businesses don’t pay up, they could be robbed or otherwise harassed. It has also been used to scare community groups out of prosecution for members of a criminal organization. However, individuals can also commit extortion, as can officials, especially in corrupt agencies or governments.
To prove extortion charges, a prosecutor must be able to prove that an illegal threat was made or that goods or services were received in exchange for that threat. Proving such allegations can sometimes be very difficult, as people may be too intimidated to testify.
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