How can crime be disrupted effectively without increasing resources? To answer this question, we develop a spatial network model of crime diffusion, using London as a case study. Moving beyond traditional hot spot policing, we identify key player neighborhoods-highly connected areas in the...

Criminal finances, together with money laundering and asset recovery, are central to many forms of organised crime. In recognition of this, the priorities of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT)1 on fraud, and economic and financial crimes put emphasis on the...

The objective of anti-money laundering (AML) programs is to disrupt the financial infrastructure of criminal organizations, thereby seizing illicit assets and curbing the expansion of these criminal activities. This paper assesses the effectiveness of AML programs in curbing three distinct forms...

The 2024 report builds on the significant achievements and lessons learned in previous years, reflecting the EIB Group's unwavering dedication to combating fraud and corruption. The report gives an overview of the Investigations Division's work to prevent, detect, investigate and remedy...

Data-driven strategies that leverage digital technologies for task improvement are increasingly being adopted across organizations. However, theoretical and empirical insights into how such strategies are implemented-and the organizational tensions they may generate-remain scarce. This study...

The technological evolution has not only opened new frontiers but has also become an indispensable part of our daily lives. However, the technology that enhances our lives presents a dual reality-it offers opportunities for criminals while creating challenges for law enforcement. Fraud,...

Among Latin American countries, Peru has one of the highest crime rates, with 9 out of 10 Peruvians reporting feeling unsafe walking the streets at night. This rooted-in-reality feeling of insecurity may harm citizens' mental health. We study the consequences of the Peruvian Safe Neighborhood...

Can lowering barriers to public services reduce domestic violence? Exploiting the introduction of a non-mandatory police reporting policy, I find that it significantly reduces domestic violence cases reported to the police while increasing hospital-reported cases of domestic assault. I further...

As the global economy undergoes rapid digital transformation, cryptocurrencies have emerged as a prominent alternative class of financial assets. Their decentralized nature, pseudonymity, and lack of centralized oversight have attracted considerable interest among investors while simultaneously...

This feasibility study investigates the extent of the threat posed by the criminal misuse of pyrotechnic articles across Europe. It responds to concerns about illicit manufacturing, diversion to criminal channels, and misuse of pyrotechnic articles in criminal activities, aiming to provide the...

There is a wealth of literature that describes and theorizes about the practices of economic and financial crime in the Global North and South, but little research has been done to explore the perspectives of other stakeholders on the growing trend of these crimes and the efficacy of the...

The 2023 Investigations Activity Report highlights our commitment to integrity and transparency in all our activities. The European Investment Bank Group (EIB) is dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and has a zero-tolerance policy for any prohibited conduct. The Group's...

At the beginning of 2017, the College of Eurojust initiated a project designed to assess the impact on judicial cooperation in criminal matters within the European Union (EU) of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Joined Cases C-203/15 and C-698/15, Tele2 Sverige...

Many countries have established national authorities to investigate and prosecute serious and complex white-collar and corporate crime incidents. This article reviews research literature regarding external challenges and barriers for national agencies in Norway (Økokrim), New Zealand (SFO), the...

Across the world each year millions of people are victimised by online crime, many of whom fall victim to online fraud. One of the most enduring and prolific types of online fraud is romance fraud. Romance fraud often leads to financial and psychological devastation of those who are victimised....

This article delves into the organisation of Ivorian cyberfraudsters, known as "brouteurs", who engage in romance scams and sextorsion, and it questions the various structures through which these fraudsters operate. The study's findings are based on data collected through semi-structured...

When decision-makers overemphasize salient features under limited attention, biased decisions can result in settings in which decisions should be unbiased. We exploit a sudden shock in the salience of individuals of Moroccan descent in the Netherlands to test the vulnerability of decisions of...

When decision-makers overemphasize salient features under limited attention, biased decisions can result in settings in which decisions should be unbiased. We exploit a sudden shock in the salience of individuals of Moroccan descent in the Netherlands to test the vulnerability of decisions of...

The extant literature on marginal deterrence supports the notion that individuals maintain a dynamic decision-making process that yields several ranked outcomes after weighing the risks and rewards. In this article, we conduct a novel large-scale empirical analysis of the marginal deterrence...

Corruption harms communities and impacts the global economy. It discourages business opportunities, hinders foreign aid and investment, and exacerbates inequality. It victimizes society's most vulnerable and marginalized individuals by affecting their ability to meet their basic needs, as well...

U.S. law requires the Attorney General to collect data on hate crime victimization from states and municipalities, but states and localities are under no obligation to cooperate by gathering or sharing information. Data production hence varies considerably across jurisdictions. This paper...

The banking sector of three Baltic countries, i.e., Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, was abused by money laundering scandals between 2018 and 2020. The Danske Bank scandal was the largest one and, combined with the other scandals, inevitably triggered a heavy critique of national anti-money...

Perception of white-collar crime seriousness varies from unfortunate incidents that can be excused to a major crime that needs harsh punishment. Students at a university in Romania were asked about their perceptions of seriousness. On a scale from 1 (not serious) to 7 (extremely serious) most...

This paper uses the rare opportunity of the first ever criminal conviction in the UK of a bank for breaches of AML Regulations (NatWest) to examine the AML framework. The article investigates whether the current framework and enforcement are working in addressing the breaches. The article...

The literature on the causes of corruption has been preoccupied with the corrupt individual or the socio-political and economic contexts in which corruption occurs. This has resulted in macro-level counter-corruption approaches that focus on the root causes of corruption. In the last few...

Policymakers have increasingly turned their attention to wrongdoing that affects wills, such as the forgery of wills, the procurement of wills through coercion or deceit, and the destruction or suppression of wills. In particular, they have attempted to deter this misconduct by punishing...

Prisons serve the public by keeping in safe custody those committed by the courts and treating them with humanity and helping them lead a useful life in society as law abiding citizens after their release from the prison. Prison in India is an age old concept.In the early periods, unused old...

The city of Johannesburg is the largest metropolitan municipality out of eight in South Africa. It is notorious for its high levels of crime, with a crime index of 80.72 and a safety index of 19.28. This article examines crime prevention co-production in the Johannesburg metropolitan area. The...

There is a vigorous debate on whether arrests for domestic violence (DV) will deter future abuse or create a retaliatory backlash. We study how arrests affect the dynamics of DV using administrative data for over 124,000 DV emergency calls (999 calls) for West Midlands, the second most populous...