If nation-states exist to provide a decentralized method of delivering (public) political goods to people living within designated parameters (borders) then, in many nations lack capacities to perform even basic functions, such as such as security, policing, regulation or to provide basic goods and services. Previously, for such states different names were choen, such as kleptocracy, parallel state, criminal state, mafia state, deep state, failed state, kakistocracy, racketeering state, and others. In such states, the capture of the public institutions and ultimately the state capture is a matter of time. For these reasons, we argue that appropriate instruments are needed, such as RICO laws in the United States, because without improvements to the criminal law it is difficult to punish those who have or attempted to “capture the state”.