At least 110 billion euros a year and growing – organised crime costs Europe the equivalent of the first Greek bailout every year. With evidence of increasing criminal infiltration into the legal economy, what is being done to tackle the gangs and their proceeds?
Heroin, cocaine and cannabis make drugs the number one activity for organised crime in Europe, followed by human trafficking. VAT fraud, weapons and tobacco smuggling provide other major revenue streams. To clean dirty money, criminal gangs turn to the legal economy. More recently the renewable energy and waste management sectors have been targeted.
Europe’s open borders have also enabled criminals to move cash and invest in other parts of the EU easily. Discrepancies in criminal laws between European countries and the increasingly fragmented nature of criminal groups only highlight the difficulties faced by police in the battle against organised crime.
On the Frontline speaks to Europol’s Brian Donald and the Director
