Europol is the EU's law enforcement agency, supporting the 27 EU Member States in their fight against serious international crime and terrorism. Europol also works closely with non-EU partner countries, other EU agencies and international organisations, strengthening global security through...

This article analyses the expansion of Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) across the Sahara-Sahel, using the transplantation framework from criminology to explore how the group relocated. By focussing on this case study, the article offers an examination of how JNIM strategically embedded...

International cocaine trafficking from South America has increased significantly over the past decade. Based on mixed-methods research, we hypothesize that this change has been driven primarily by the globalization of its logistics, which has led to relevant technical and political changes along...

The author, Stephen Schneider, undertakes a holistic analysis of the numerous definitions, descriptions, and concepts that represent the criminological construct referred to as "organized crime." He provides a critical analysis of those researchers who have trafficked in ethnic and racial...

As the incidences of traditional crime rates have begun to decline, there has been a surge and shift in the kinds of criminal activities perpetuated by individuals. The recent shift in criminal activities includes organized crime, white-collar crime, and cybercrime.The increased use and access...

Based on empirical evidence, this research: highlights the timeline of changes in Ukrainian agricultural sector since the onset of the full-scale war in 2022 and the maritime blockade affecting exports; examines the relevant transformation of the illegal grain market amid these extraordinary...

Environmental crime, ranked as the fourth-largest criminal enterprise after drug trafficking, counterfeiting, and human trafficking, encompasses illegal activities such as mineral extraction, land clearance, and waste trafficking. These crimes are closely linked to financial crimes due to their...

This study examines how dismantling Mafia-connected firms affects banks' lending practices. Using a unique dataset of 667 such firms and loan-level data from the European Central Bank, our analysis shows that anti-Mafia operations precede an increase in bank loans to businesses that operate in...

This analysis uses known corruption cases, serious enough to be prosecuted by governments, to develop an empirical description of the nature of corruption and its connections to organized crime. More than 200 cases from the U.S. covering an entire year are compared with nearly 300 corruption...

Traditional 20th century public responses to Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) were oftentimes singular, siloed, and exclusive; state entities and resources were used to detect, deter, and combat the issue. The expansion and emergence of new types of organized crime in the 21st century has made...

ADVANCE COPY: This chapter is an advance excerpt from the upcoming World Bank report "Organized Crime and Violence in Latin America and the Caribbean" which will be released on Monday, April 28th, 2025

Data for this year's IOCTA has been collected from a variety of sources. These include an analysis of cases supported by the Europol European Cyber Crime Centre (EC3), interviews with Europol operational team experts, and input from members of Europol EC3 Advisory Groups. The report is also...

Das Schlagwort "Kokainschwemme" macht derzeit die Runde, es beschreibt den gestiegenen Zufuhrdruck der Droge in Richtung Europa. Dabei betreiben Gruppen der organisierten Rauschgiftkriminalität den Einfuhrschmuggel von Kokain meist über europäische Containerhäfen, in deren Logistikbereichen...

This is a review of the 2023 IASOC Prize Winner Trying to Make It: The Enterprises, Gangs, and People of the American Drug Trade. By R.V. Gundur. Gundur offers a masterful account of the inner workings of the illicit drugs trade from the Mexico-US Border into the USA. His ethnography examines...

The fight against drug-related organised crime is a priority for the EU and its Member States. In October 2023, the European Commission presented a communication on an EU roadmap to fight drug trafficking and organised crime, including a proposal to set up a network of specialised prosecutors...

In 2023, ransomware attacks, child sexual exploitation (CSE) and online fraud remained the most threatening manifestations of cybercrime in the European Union (EU). The cybercriminal landscape remained diverse, comprising both lone actors and criminal networks offering a wide range of expertise...

Since 2022, the EU, Finland, France, Germany, and Sweden have joined up in a Team Europe Initiative to support Africa fight illicit financial flows and related transnational organised crime. To date, Africa's EU partners have raised more than EUR 450 million in more than 75 projects and...

Since 2022, the EU, Finland, France, Germany, and Sweden have joined up in a Team Europe Initiative to support Africa fight illicit financial flows and related transnational organised crime. To date, Africa's EU partners have raised more than EUR 450 million in more than 75 projects and...

Grounded on an extensive literature review derived from evidence-based studies (e.g., scientific articles, institutional and technical reports, journalistic evidence, academic books, and book chapters), our article develops a qualitative analysis to address the following question: to what extent...

Infiltration of the legal economy by criminal organizations (OCGs) is potentially significant, though how pervasive remains uncertain. Beyond the volume, the motives driving infiltration are of serious policy concern. We introduce a conceptual framework to differentiate between OCGs' motives for...

Infiltration of the legal economy by criminal organizations (OCGs) is potentially significant, though how pervasive remains uncertain. Beyond the volume, the motives driving infiltration are of serious policy concern. We introduce a conceptual framework to differentiate between OCGs’ motives...

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...

Das Schlagwort "Kokainschwemme" macht derzeit die Runde, es beschreibt den gestiegenen Zufuhrdruck der Droge in Richtung Europa. Dabei betreiben Gruppen der organisierten Rauschgiftkriminalität den Einfuhrschmuggel von Kokain meist über europäische Containerhäfen, in deren Logistikbereichen...

This study asserts that the repatriation of foreign fighters from the conflict in Ukraine poses a significant threat to the peace and stability of the Southeast Europe within the realm of organized crime. It contends that Southeast Europe serves as fertile ground for foreign fighters during...

Illicit Financial Flows (IFF) - such as corruption and money laundering - have a significant negative impact on the enjoyment of human rights. Combating IFF is an integral part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. SDG 16 explicitly promulgates the relation between the rule of law,...

This article conducts a comparative analysis of Italian and UK legislations concerning the infiltration of organised crime into the economy. Considering (among other things) the concerns about allegedly weakened cooperation between judicial authorities of Italy and the UK in a post-Brexit era,...

What is the long-term effect of organised crime presence on social capital accumulation? By leveraging novel social capital and organised crime data, this study investigates this question within the Italian landscape. In an instrumental variable (IV) setting, we exploit the forced resettlement...

When does organized crime resort to assassinating politicians? In narcocracies, criminal groups co-opt political elites through bribery in exchange for protection to traffic illegal drugs. When criminal groups compete, they may also resort to political violence to influence which candidate wins...

The pervasive violence perpetrated by criminal organizations poses a substantial threat to numerous countries around the world. This study investigates the influence of organized crime violence on public perceptions of organized crime and support for the state.To address this unexplored issue,...

Criminal actors linked to Venezuelan State Organized Crime, be they in or outside the country, profit from Venezuela’s ruling system of “inverted rule of law” and impunity. The present article sheds light on international challenges that have arisen while seeking accountability abroad....

I document mafia firms’ participation in public procurement contracts awarded following natural disasters in Italy. I exploit quasi-random assignment of municipalities to emergency relief status after earthquakes. I show that, only after emergency status is released, criminal firms increase...

We investigate the impact of childhood exposure to organized criminal violence on sociopolitical attitudes in Mexico, where an entire generation of youths has been raised amid the country's most violent conflict over the past century. We fielded an in-person survey to nearly 3,000 urban youths,...