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Understanding patterns in criminal infiltration of the legal economy

Understanding patterns in criminal infiltration of the legal economy

Businesses play a central role in the economic system, but some can be used for illicit purposes, ultimately harming the community. This paper aims to expand the current knowledge about the practices employed to infiltrate and manage legitimate businesses for illicit purposes. It investigates whether the modi operandi of infiltration are influenced by the predicate crime, criminal network, individuals involved, or economic sectors.

Relying on cases of enterprises connected to criminal actors, the paper proposes a methodological approach to assess the risk of criminal infiltration into legitimate businesses at multiple levels, including the firm, individuals, and the broader social network. The study lays the groundwork for the development of a statistical methodology for assessing the illicit exploitation of economic entities. It also tests the hypothesis that a holistic approach to the criminological study of infiltration into the legal economy is advisable due to overlapping motivations, strategies, and tendencies among criminal groups of different natures. Overall, this paper contributes to the understanding of the risk of criminal infiltration into the legal economy and provides insights for improving techniques for assessing and preventing such illicit activities.

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