Beyond business mafias, beyond Italy: a map of the risk factors of organized crime’s infiltration in companies in Europe

Questo articolo – basato su alcuni risultati del progetto di ricerca MORE - analizza le principali tendenze del fenomeno dell’infiltrazione in impresa da parte della criminalità organizzata in Europa. Attraverso l’analisi di alcune decine di fascicoli giudiziari raccolti nei 28 paesi UE, corrispondenti a circa 950 imprese, lo studio analizza (a) i principali ‘reati spia’ dell’infiltrazione; (b) le strategie adottate dai gruppi criminali per controllare e gestire le aziende; e (c) i principali fattori facilitanti l’infiltrazione – in primis, il contante e l’opacità delle strutture societarie. Nonostante le differenze legislative e culturali, l’analisi rileva molti elementi in comune tra i casi di infiltrazione mafiosa in Italia e quelli relativi ad altri paesi e altre organizzazioni. Tra questi, il rapporto sempre più simbiotico tra criminalità organizzata e ‘reati economici satellite’, soprattutto false fatturazioni, falso documentale, corruzione pubblica e privata.Parole chiave: criminalità organizzata; mafia; infiltrazione; riciclaggio di denaro; EuropaThis paper – based on the main findings of the MORE research project – analyses the main patterns of organised crime infiltration in European businesses. By means of an analysis of tens of judicial documents collected in all the 28 EU countries, equivalent to about 950 infiltrated firms, the study studies (a) the main ‘sentinel crimes’ of infiltration; (b) the strategies adopted by criminal groups to control and manage firms; and (c) the key risk factors facilitating criminal infiltration – first of all cash intensity and business ownership opacity. Despite the legislative and cultural differences, the analysis highlights many common elements between mafia infiltration cases and those referring to other countries and criminal groups. Among them, the strict link between organised crime and ‘satellite economic crimes’ such as false invoicing, document forgery, public and private corruption.Keywords: organised crime; mafia; infiltration; money laundering; Europ

Mapping the risk of Serious and Organised Crime infiltration in European Businesses – Final report of the MORE Project

This study - based on the final results of project MORE - mapped cases and risk factors of serious and organised crime (SOC) infiltration in legitimate businesses across European countries, regions and business sector