Introduction 1 Organized crime Organized crime monitor 2

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: 1. placement (cash deposits); 2. layering (concealing criminal origin); 3. 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 A. Ltd/BVI Bank BVI Giro transfer Exchange office London/UK Account LTD Cash Giro transfer B. SA Luxemburg “Loan” Giro transfer Housing BV/NL Criminal org/NL