In the discreet world of criminal intelligence, this is a small revolution: no longer studying organized crime through the illegal markets it invests in, but by analyzing its very structure. From this point of view, the overview of the 821 most threatening criminal organizations in Europe, established by Europol, the European police cooperation agency, turns out to be chilling. According to the study and more confidential elements to which The world had access, the networks he describes, powerful, operate according to the standards of real multinational crime companies. “A major threat to the internal security of the European Union”, states the 60-page document published on April 5, which describes a rapidly expanding phenomenon.
Unlike other states, such as Italy or the Netherlands, France does not really appear as the rear base of sprawling organizations, rather as a target for drug import networks or, more surprisingly, networks of itinerant burglars. But if “criminal networks composed only of French members” operate mainly on the national territory, they also extend, thanks to “connections with more than fifteen other countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain in the European Union, as well as the United Arab Emirates”explains Europol.
The interest of the study lies in a new, if not innovative, approach: when the reports of international organizations generally focus on the description of sectors of illegal activity, such as drug trafficking or cyberdelinquency, this provides a close-up on the criminal groups themselves, their structure, the level of territorial control they are capable of exercising, their longevity, their cooperation strategies. “This is a complete change in methodology”, explains Claire Georges, Europol communications manager. For “make the invisible visible”adds Catherine De Bolle, executive director of the international organization, in a foreword to the report.
A “recourse to a legal commercial structure”
The latter summarizes the contributions of the twenty-seven member states of the European Union and around ten third countries, the precise list of which is not communicated, but which includes, according to our information, the United States , several Latin American countries or Australia. After defining a certain number of common indicators (level of corruption, infiltration into the legal economy, recourse to violence), everyone responded to a detailed questionnaire drawn up by Europol. No name, not the slightest face, however, in these 60 pages. These are recorded in an ultra-confidential version transmitted to the specialized services of the States concerned. This veritable international directory of organized crime lists no less than 25,000 members.
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