Europol report sheds light on Europe's most dangerous criminal networks

On 5 April 2024, the European Police Office Europol published a new report analysing the most threatening criminal networks within the EU. It shows how they are organised, what criminal activities they carry out and how and where they operate. In this report in particular, Europol defines characteristics that influence the categorisation of the threat level.

Uniqueness of the report

It is the most detailed study of the most threatening criminal networks ever conducted by European law enforcement agencies. EU Member States and Europol partner countries have worked together to compile a comprehensive set of data on the 821 most dangerous criminal networks according to Europol.

Common features

The report reveals that the most dangerous criminal networks share four characteristics - they are agile, borderless, dominant and destructive - which increase their threat potential. In addition, an impressive 71 % of these networks specifically rely on corruption to facilitate and amplify their criminal activities (Europol 2024, Decoding the EU's most threatening criminal networks, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, p. 16 and p. 57).

Infiltration of the economy

What makes criminal networks truly dangerous is their ability to exploit the available legal infrastructure of societies and companies to achieve criminal objectives. 86 % of networks use legal corporate structures, in particular to launder illicit assets. 41 % of networks in the EU use real estate to launder illicit profits. Other methods include investing in high-value assets such as gold (27 %) and using cash-intensive businesses such as the hospitality industry (20 %), (Europol 2024, p. 42). The report makes it clear that the relentless greed for profit of organised crime means that money laundering is often seen as a central activity, even if it actually only serves to support the actual core business, such as drug trafficking (Europol 2024, p. 43).

Expert requirements

The report also emphasises that specialised expertise in money laundering is essential for criminal networks. Therefore, these networks often rely on experts, such as financial or legal professionals, whose technical know-how is essential to support and optimise their criminal operations (Europol 2024, p. 43).

According to Europol, these specialised roles are firmly anchored in the structures of criminal networks, with 96 % of these networks carrying out the laundering of their illicit proceeds themselves (Europol 2024, p. 14). Often, some of the money laundering activities are even carried out directly in the country in which the money launderer is domiciled.

Global presence

The majority (68 %) of criminal networks are active and present in both EU and non-EU countries. Outside the EU, the networks are most frequently active in Albania, Brazil, Colombia, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom (Europol 2024, p. 44).

Scope of money laundering

Money laundering activities take place in more than 80 countries. Most criminal networks (49 %) prefer to launder their money within the EU, 32 % of the networks both inside and outside the EU and the remaining 19 % only outside the EU. With regard to legal social structures, the report also shows that 70 % of the criminal networks exploit them within the EU. (Europol 2024, p. 46).

You can find the full report on the Europol website.