NEWS: $750 billion in dirty cash is laundered through Europe per year – report
AN estimated $750 billion in illicit funds flowed through the financial system in Europe in 2023, according to a new study.
The finding comes from a report by Nasdaq Verafin, a Canada-based company which provides fincrime technology such as fraud detection software. It said the dirty cash is equivalent to 2.3% of Europe’s GDP.
The report also found that, globally, $3.1 trillion was laundered in 2023. It said this meant that, “Europe represents nearly a quarter of the total flow of illicit funds globally”. This is despite the fact that Europe has under 10% of the global population.
The study classed ‘Europe’ as the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom (UK) and Norway.
Europe money laundering and fincrime activity Nasdaq Verafin said its ‘Financial Crime Insights: Europe’ calculated the $750 billion figure by estimating a variety of financial crime. These included:
$178.0 billion in drug trafficking activity $82.2 billion in human trafficking activity $2.7 billion in terrorist financing activity $487.2 billion in ‘other’ illicit activity, including “organized crime, fraud, corruption”. “Criminals are not bound by banks, borders, or regulations,” said Stephanie Champion, Executive Vice President and Head of Nasdaq Verafin. “By aligning on shared goals, we can strengthen economies and safeguard the financial system from harm.”
She added that the report “highlights the need for unified action to address both domestic and cross-border risks.”
The report said the figures show the scale that money laundering undermines economic stability in Europe. Illicit activities such as human trafficking, fraud, elder exploitation, and terrorist financing have far-reaching societal and financial impacts. It also identifies key priorities for financial crime prevention, including increased collaboration, cross-sector partnerships, and the adoption of advanced technology.
Nasdaq Verafin produces AI-driven tools to help banks detect fraud, automate compliance, and improve anti-money laundering (AML) efforts.
The company produced the report in collaboration with Celent Research and Oliver Wyman.
Texas claims border islands used by Mexican cartels, asks Trump admin to secure and defend Texas has made securing border islands used by Mexican drug cartels a key part of its effort to combat crime and illegal immigration
One of the Hells Angels who took part in the notorious slaughter of five of the biker gang’s members in the Eastern Townships nearly four decades ago spent a few months behind bars following his arrest after he was badly injured in a collision last October. In a decision made on Friday, the Parole Board of Canada reinstated Jacques Pelletier’s full parole. The 69-year-old former Hells Angel is serving the life sentence he received in 1986 for his role in the first-degree murders of fellow gang members in Lennoxville, carried out inside what was then a bunker used by the gang’s Sherbrooke chapter. The slaughter, which came to be known as the Lennoxville Purge, revealed to Quebec the level of violence the gang was capable of. The ambush was planned by leaders of the Hells Angels based in Quebec who felt the gang’s Laval chapter had become undisciplined when it came to drug trafficking and that this caused problems with other criminal organizations, including the West End Gang, who supplied them with drugs like cocaine. On March 24, 1985, five Laval members were shot to death after they were summoned to a Hells Angels clubhouse in Lennoxville, just outside Sherbrooke. Several Hells Angels were present that day and played a role in the slaughter, but only four — including Pelletier — were convicted of first-degree murder and received life sentences. Pelletier was granted full parole in 2013, but the release was suspended five times since for different reasons. For example, in October 2017 he was returned to a penitentiary after police noticed his motorcycle parked outside a strip bar frequented by known criminals. Most recently, his parole was suspended following a collision on Oct. 4. During Pelletier’s hearing on Friday, the parole board members who heard his case were presented with different versions of what actually occurred, including Pelletier’s, and determined they did not have enough information to keep him inside the federal penitentiary where he spent the past three months. According to a written summary of the decision made last week, Pelletier’s parole was suspended following a collision with another vehicle on Oct. 4 and after he refused to submit to a breathalyzer test. “New criminal charges for impaired driving and refusal (to submit to a test) are expected to be filed against you (soon). At the start of the hearing, your parole officer indicated that the file was submitted to a prosecutor on Nov. 14, 2024. However, your lawyer specified that he had taken several steps since that date and that the file was still not submitted,” the parole board wrote. “During your post-suspension interview, you mentioned that you had three beers at home and ate around 4 p.m. You then took to the road alone on a motorcycle, not believing that you had exceeded the permitted alcohol limit considering your weight.” Pelletier also told the parole board that he was cut off by a car that caused the collision and that he refused to do the breathalyzer test because he felt nauseous. He also said he agreed to have a sample of his blood tested and that it indicated he was under the legal blood/alcohol limit. Pelletier ended up staying in a hospital for three days following the collision. “The police version differs from your version of the facts. Indeed, it is reported that you were involved in an accident where the driver of the other vehicle was intoxicated. Upon their arrival on the scene of the accident, the police had sufficient reason to believe that you were intoxicated,” the parole board wrote while noting the police allege Pelletier did not agree to have a sample of his blood tested. The board determined that, based on the different versions of what happened in October, “it does not have any reliable and convincing information that your behaviour on Oct. 4, 2024 violated any of your special conditions nor that you have committed an offence or adopted behaviour related to your cycle of delinquency.” As part of the conditions imposed on his new release, Pelletier is not allowed to be in an establishment where the main source of revenue is alcohol and he is not allowed to associate with people who he knows or suspects are involved in criminal activity.
A trip to South Africa won on the internet allegedly led a septuagenarian from Chapais to import 7 kg of heroin He was arrested at Montreal-Trudeau Airport in possession of a suitcase full of narcotics that did not belong to him.
Martine Love (Saffron Burrows), former model and sometimes drug dealer, brings to her one-time lover Terry Leather (Jason Stratham), a plan to rob the safe deposit vault of a bank whose alarm system is off line for repairs. She doesn't tell him that she's being blackmailed by MI5 (o r6?) to retrieve compromising photos of Princess Margaret from one of the boxes. Terry puts together several amateur, low-level villains to tunnel into the vault. They score millions in cash and jewels--and critical stuff belonging to a pornography titan with police on his payroll, a bordello owner with politico clients and a black militant drug dealer---all of whom will stop at nothing to retrieve their valuables. Lots of moving parts, but director Roger Donaldson keeps them humming in synch, so you never lose track of the connections. The heist is absorbing. This film is based on a real life British heist. Very entertaining.
I think the word mafia is used much too loosely. More importantly, this shows how ignorant Germany is at border policy. Almost as bad as we are.
You are right, they call any gang a Mafia gang, or Mafia type gang. It's been done a long time. I look at an other of the European crime stories like this, and the common denominator is Arab groups.
the investigation How the 'Ndrangheta Conquered Colombia: From "Invisible Drug Traffickers" to the Emissaries of the "Santa Alianza" Here she would have managed to establish links with the “Gulf clan” and “Los Costeños”. And then the double blow with the arrests of “Rony” and “Dollarino” Published: 03/31/2025 – 7:02
LAMEZIA TERME His fellow citizens were convinced that he was a builder, active in business and investments in South America. A few days ago they realized that in their community, in reality, there lived a powerful drug trafficker . A true “boss” of the sector, with huge businesses in Dubai and, above all, in Italy. A nice surprise for the inhabitants of Garagoa , a small town in the south-east of Boyacá , one of the 32 departments of Colombia . The unsuspecting person is Ronald Fernando Acosta Cuesta alias “Rony”, who ended up in handcuffs last March 26. An arrest even announced by the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, on social media, describing “Rony” as a «member of the “Junta del Narcotráfico”».
Unsuspecting citizen An unexpected neighbor for the residents of the exclusive neighborhood of Santa Barbara, north of Bogotá , where he lived in a luxury apartment, convinced that he was the manager of a construction and aquaculture company created in 2013. The "investigative editorial team" of "El Tiempo" , an important Colombian newspaper (this is a security measure to avoid reprisals) has reconstructed the profile of "Rony" through some information obtained from the authorities: a criminal record of "over 19 years in the service of drug trafficking" and the ability to "lead a transnational network with a range of action in Colombia, Venezuela and Panama". He would also have registered in his name a bar in Garagoa and "La Estampilla", a property in Yopal, the 32nd house in a complex in Garagoa and a plot of land.
According to the first information gathered, therefore, “Rony” would have been in the service of the 'ndrangheta, «transporting cocaine between Calabria and Milan». But there is more. His name, in fact, matches that of another Colombian – same name and surname – linked to a mega-money laundering operation, over 70 million dollars , of illicit and mafia origin, probably connected to international drug trafficking. The authorities are therefore verifying whether it is the same individual , but what the investigators had discovered was a network equipped with “human mules” used to place the money inside ad hoc bags and suitcases with double bottoms, in which they wrapped the banknotes in carbon paper and newspapers to avoid being detected by X-ray machines at airports. A group that also had more than 20 luxury vehicles seized, including a Mercedes Benz van, two Lexuses, two Toyota Land Cruisers, three Toyota Hilux vans, a Nissan Navara van, a BMW and a BMW 3201 car. In any case – as reconstructed by local investigators and reported by the Colombian press – “Rony” continued to buy land in Garagoa, even filing a lawsuit in the Supreme Court for a property. Gregorini “Dollarino” and the “Holy Alliance” But why is the arrest of “Rony” so important? An answer has been provided once again by “El Tiempo”. Because according to intelligence sources of the National Police, “invisible drug traffickers” of the Italian mafia operate in Colombia, capable therefore of “managing cocaine trafficking in the shadows” through a network that is part of what has been defined as the “holy alliance” or the “ santa alianza” . In this context, therefore, the important arrest of Emanuele Gregorini known as “Dollarino” fits in , which took place last week in Cartagena, after months of research. According to investigators, it is only one piece of a powerful network that connects Colombia with European organized crime and, in particular, with the Italian mafia. “Dollarino” is considered an “emissary” with the task of reconstructing the routes affected after the capture of two other prominent figures in 2024: Gustavo Nogueira and Luigi Belvedere, both linked to the mafias of Naples and Caserta. Gregorini, according to the investigation by the Milan DDA, would be part of the Campania component, directed by Michele Senese, of the alleged mafia consortium in Milan that emerged from the “Hydra” investigation by the Milan Anti-Mafia District which, in recent days, closed the investigations for 146 suspects.
The 'Ndrangheta conquers Colombia In short, in Colombia the 'ndrangheta is now a "national emergency". A source told the same Colombian newspaper that it is "considered one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the world because it has extended its influence in more than 40 countries, including Colombia. Its operational model is based on sending emissaries who create networks in different regions". Here, the 'ndrangheta and the Italian mafias in general, in order to be successful, have committed to establishing strong ties with local partners. In the Caribbean country, for example, the clans have managed to establish ties with the "clan del Golfo" and "Los Costeños", two of the most active criminal structures on the coast, but they have also identified movements in the Valle del Cauca, Urabá and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, "where they have sought contacts with local groups to secure drug supplies", the newspaper reports. A source further reported: «The relationship is functional for both parties: while the Italian mafias guarantee the flow of drugs towards Europe, the local groups benefit from the experience, logistics and financial resources of the Europeans». ( g.curcio@corrierecal.it )
Since October 7 Jews across the entire religious and political spectrum have been targeted because they are Jews
The criminals who have emerged since the Hamas terror attacks have never cared about what type of Jew they are attacking.
And Chikli’s conference should have done the same It should have been all-inclusive to bring in Left and Right, religious and non-religious and Jewish and non-Jewish to speak about what can be done
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It was all-inclusive! trying to bring people of all spectrum together but ended up a farce because of the all-inclusive! list of attendees
The overshadowing of the conference was unfortunate for both Israel and its government However it was a step in the right direction
Maybe next time, the government can ensure an inclusive, all-embracing get-together that can include everyone affected by antisemitism
Sure thing Tom seemingly happy! taking satisfaction from Michael's predicament and acting like — 1. It had nothing to do with Tom
I think that must have really pissed Michael off: "You've opened yourself up to five counts of perjury" [emphasis added]. Even if Tom wasn't his brother, he was still his lawyer. Wouldn't Michael have consulted Tom about his testimony, and the risks involved in waiving his Fifth Amendment privilege and lying under oath???
Indeed "You've opened yourself up to five counts of perjury" You did! Nothing to do with me
In fairness, irrespective of Tom's advice and/or the risks involved — Michael, 1. still would have waived his Fifth Amendment privilege 2. still would have lied under oath
I can't ever! see Michael responding to accusations of his 'complete falsehood' criminal past with
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“I decline to answer that question because my answer may incriminate me”
Also Michael feeling invulnerable, believing Frankie Pentangeli — the only one — who “has had no buffer between himself and Michael Corleone” was dead
I didn't like the London card at all. Snooze fest. Conor finally admits he's pretty much done thank God. Tired of hearing his bullshit talk about his "bionic leg"
