We investigate the long-run relationship between organized crime and corruption using data from 20 Italian regions over 30 years. As Rose-Ackerman and Palifka (2018) argue, corruption and organized crime often go together. Our study contributes to the literature in several ways in terms of...

We show that credit constraints significantly increase the risk that firms are infiltrated by organized crime, defined as the covert involvement of criminal organizations in corporate decision-making. Using confidential data on criminal investigations, credit ratings, and loan histories for the...

Do criminal groups which help maintain order strengthen the fiscal contract or weaken it? This paper examines how the presence of organized-crime groups shapes Mexican municipalities' ability to collect revenue, deliver public goods, and earn citizens' trust. Survey data show that residents...

Illegal wildlife trade is increasingly reported as intersecting with other serious crimes, a phenomenon labelled "crime convergence". However, there is limited empirical research on the extent and nature of these linkages. The present study seeks to understand what criminal activities converge...

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...

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...

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...

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

The fight against 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 and judges to...

How does criminal group taxation affect participation in elections? I argue that criminal groups that tax public service provision use it as a technology of governance, which gives them a comparative advantage in voter mobilization. I predict that higher levels of criminal taxes on services...

Organised crime groups often deliver electoral support to politicians, yet how they are rewarded remains unclear. Using data from Sicilian municipalities (1992-2022), we show that narrowly won races by Forza Italia, Silvio Berlusconi's party, coincide with sharp declines in the reallocation of...

We document the transplantation of the Sicilian Mafia to the United States in the 1920s, when a large-scale repression campaign in Italy targeted Mafia strongholds and forced many Mafiosi to migrate, and study the resulting short- and long-term effects across neighborhoods in U.S. cities. Using...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...