searchfortruth.info > Organised Crime

Organised Crime

Examining The Links Between Organised Crime And Corruption

by

The study Examining the links between organised crime and corruption was commissioned by the European Commission (DG JLS). This is the first study that examines systematically across all 27 EU Member States how organised crime uses corruption as a tool. The study is based on more than 150 interviews with corruption specialists (police, prosecutors, criminologists, and fraud specialists). More than 120 statistical and survey indicators on corruption and organised crime were analysed to examine the trends and patterns in organised crime’s use of corruption.

The study focuses on how organised and white collar criminals use corruption to target public institutions (politicians, police, judiciary, and customs), as well as how it is used for the operation of key criminal markets (cigarettes, drugs, prostitution, car-theft, and extortion-racketeering). The study also examines how private sector company employees are corrupted by organised criminals. Although the study does not map the specifics of how corruption is used in each EU Member State, six in-depth studies (on Bulgaria...,

Read More!

Study to Examine The Links Between Organised Crime and Corruption

by

Targets of corruption

Due to the big differences among Member States’ institutions, the criminal structures in the EU take advantage of corruption in a variety of ways. In some countries (IT, BG, RO), ‘political patronage’ creates a vertical system of corruption that functions from top to bottom in all public institutions: administrative apparatuses, the judiciary and law enforcement (i.e. police and customs). In other countries politicians, magistrates, and white-collar criminals form closed corruption networks that are not systematic in nature. White-collar crime at the middle level of government bureaucrates is common (at various degrees of intensity) to almost all member states. In countries with low level of corruption, the cases are sporadic. The most wide-spread and systematic forms of corruption targeted by organised crime is associated with the low-ranking employees of police and public administration. Organised crime also targets tax administrations, financial regulators and any other regulatory body that might impact criminal activities, but in a less systematic and significant way. ...

Read More!