130 likes | 297 Views
Introduction. 1. Organized crime (Organized crime monitor) 2. Investment of crime proceeds (money laundering, misuse of corporate vehicles, real estate). Organized crime monitor. 1996-2007 120 police files checklist How does it work?. Key findings.
E N D
Introduction 1. Organized crime (Organized crime monitor) 2. Investment of crime proceeds (money laundering, misuse of corporate vehicles, real estate)
Organized crime monitor • 1996-2007 • 120 police files • checklist • How does it work?
Key findings • Transit crime: rather than controlling sectors of economy or regions (like Mafia), misuse of legal infrastructure and economic infrastructure • Transnational activities; investments in familiar territories. • Pyramidal structures exception; Social ties: basic for criminal cooperation
Key findings • Social embeddedness • Legitimate occupations: breeding ground for criminal associations • Local embedded
Damage • Estimate CBS: 3.3 billion Euros (1% GDP) • Drugs: 2 billion Euros • Prostitution (woman trade) 660 million • Illegal gambling 140 million
Crime proceeds • Meloen: 52 cases; most of the investments in real estate • In sectors familiar to the offenders: bars, hotels, brothels, houses/appartmenrts in familiar territories (Amsterdam not Kerkrade)
Money laundering • The process that begins with proceeds of crime and ends with investments in the formal economy • Three sequential elements: • placement (cash deposits); • layering (concealing criminal origin); • integration (converting into apparently legitimate earnings or loans
Corporate vehicles • Limited, Societe Anonyme, Delaware Corporation, besloten vennootschap • Separation between Individual A and his activities/funds lodged in Corporate Vehicles (Legal persons) • Absence of personal liability (you can take risks) • You can hide your fortune; split between judicial owner and ‘beneficial’ owner
Conclusions • A hugh amount of crime proceeds (probably) • Attitude: investment in real estate; familiar territories • Legal forms (corporate vehicles) are easily misused for concealing origin, investing the proceeds of crime • Diffuse distinctions between ‘illegal’ and ‘legal’ worlds • Conflicts (extortion; disagreement) between offenders and ‘legitimate’ actors
Corporate vehicles • Opportunities for misuse; it’s rather easy to misuse corporate vehicles (concealing the origin of the money; hiding your involvement; creating apparently legitimate reasons for converting crime proceeds into ‘clean’ money
Casus Housing Exchange office London/UK Account LTD Ltd/BVI Bank BVI Giro transfer Cash Giro transfer Criminal org/NL “Loan” B. SA Luxemburg Housing BV/NL Giro transfer