Slate Money Money Talks: The Business of Black Markets
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Feb 17, 2026 Mariana van Zeller, investigative journalist and documentary host who has spent two decades reporting on black and gray markets. She explains how underground economies mirror legal business structures. She describes how cartels diversify into pharmaceuticals, how lawyers and marketing enable illicit trade, and why corruption and inequality keep these markets running.
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Criminals Run Like Corporations
- Black-market operations often mirror legal businesses with marketing, HR, and lawyers, Mariana van Zeller reports.
- These organizations scale and professionalize to maximize profit and reduce risk like any firm would.
WhatsApp Marketing For Migration Services
- King Coyote used WhatsApp broadcasts and word-of-mouth testimonials to recruit migrants and advertise success rates and prices.
- Positive client experiences drove referrals more than formal advertising in his operation.
Risk And Demand Drive Illegal Pay
- Pay in black markets correlates with risk: higher risk roles generally earn more, similar to legal markets.
- Demand drivers include tax avoidance and unmet needs like unaffordable medicines, which push people toward illegal options.