Search results

Early in its development, the EU’s anti-money laundering (AML) scheme was already criticized for its interference with the fundamental rights to privacy. Quite recently, some scholars have highlighted that customer due diligence obligations constitute a massive retention of financial data. Consequently, they have tried to …

Dear Readers, The past year was again a challenging one for Europe and the world, due to the persisting COVID-19 pandemic. 2021 was also marked by one of the largest global money laundering scandals in recent history – the “Pandora Papers.” It demonstrated the growing scale of the money laundering threat and the persistence of launderers in abusing the international financial system to hide their illicit proceeds. We are facing a combination of older and newer money laundering methods – both requiring coordinated action from governments in Europe and around the world. Traditional money laundering uses offshore jurisdictions while concealing…

Criminal organisations use and misuse legal structures in order to launder the money they earn through crimes. Local authorities can unwittingly and unwillingly facilitate crime and money laundering. After all, criminals or people who can be linked to crime and money laundering have to make …

This article describes the role and activities of the Italian notary in the fight against money laundering. The Italian notaryship has always been committed to this fight: compared to other professional groups obliged by the relevant anti-money laundering legislation, notaries submit 91% of the reports …

Dear Readers, The front page of the eucrim issues published from 2006 to 2009 included the byline: “Successor to Agon”. Indeed, to express the fight against fraud, the term “agon” (an ancient Greek term for “fight”) had been chosen as the title of the original bulletin launched in April 1993 for the Associations of lawyers for the protection of the financial interests of – at that time – the European Community. The Associations were created following a landmark seminar in Brussels in 1989 that demonstrated the need for structures at the national level to bring together practitioners and academics and…

This article sheds light on the compensation for unjustified detention that occurred while carrying out the European Arrest Warrant. First, the article exposes the reality of the lack of regulation of this matter and the necessity of having a normative reference at the level of …

The ne bis in idem protection in Art. 50 CFR restricts the ability of EU and national enforcement authorities to prosecute or punish the same defendant for the same criminal offence more than once. Under the Member States’ legal traditions, the notion of “same offence“ …

This special contribution outlines the recent Commission proposals on digitalisation of EU justice systems. On 1 December 2021, the European Commission adopted three initiatives that will make digital communication channels the default channel in cross-border judicial cases, thus translating one of the priorities set out …

Dear Readers, This eucrim issue comes at a critical juncture in the protection of the EU taxpayers’ money and the work of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). Like everyone, we at OLAF soon hope to see the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel and gradually return to a “new normal” lifestyle. For OLAF, these times mark an important turning point, namely confirmation that the EU has made substantial progress in modernising the EU framework to fight fraud against its financial interests. I especially welcome the start of operations of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), which brings Regulation…

“Reform commitments in the Italian Recovery and Resilience Plan modernize the criminal justice system and increase the effectiveness and efficiency of criminal protection against EU fraud, in line with constitutional rights and guarantees.”