AML AROUND THE WORLD
Organized crime in a borderless Europe
–The case of Romania
T
he EU is a heterogeneous mix of
countries that has, since the turn
of the century, seen an eastward
expansion to include 10 formerly communist states. In 2004, eight Eastern
European countries (Lithuania, Estonia,
Latvia, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia,
Hungary, Slovenia) joined the EU and in
2007, the EU accepted two more countries
(Romania and Bulgaria) from Southeastern
Europe. A great diversity spans the 27 EU
member states reflected not only in cultural, political and economic terms, but
also in terms of the countries’ individual
and collective exposure to organized crime
and money laundering activities. The relative ease in crossing geographical borders
by Shengen member states, including all
the Eastern European member states apart
from Romania and Bulgaria that have