Given the instability of the economic institutions of their mother country, Russian crime groups have decided that Spain is an ideal base for money laundering. The major form of money laundering is in "clean" investments. This includes huge investments in the acquisition of tourist apartments and bungalows in posh urban developments as well as in the installation of restaurants and other services related to tourism. The Latin American drug dealers have focused on Spain since the late 1970's, in large part because they were fleeing the pressure exerted on them by the United States within their respective countries. Latin American drug lords have come to Spain, where they had previously established some friendships and strong economic interests, mainly as a result of the open relationship between Spain and her ex-colonies. The reasons that international organized crime has expanded into Spain are many. They include the geographical situation of the Iberian Peninsula, the legal situation, the justice system, economic policy, commerce, the financial system, lack of coordination among police forces, lack of law enforcement resources, police corruption and incompetence, social conditions, lax drug policy, and the use of existing small-scale bands of criminals. 15 references