International Journal on Criminology Volume 2, Number 1, Spring 2014 | Page 46

International Journal on Criminology
endemic and the most hit by the euro financial
crisis, the amount of revenue loss is of the
same magnitude as the amount of the annual
deficit" 90 .
If fraud and tax evasion are of course
not the "only explanation" to the crisis in the
euro zone, they are a cause of its lasting effect.
That is why one of the keys to the fight
against money laundering, tax evasion, and
grand corruption lies in the transparency of
legal entities so as to prevent them from being
a vehicle to fraud 91 .
Positive evolution, the current financial
crisis, helped in creating momentum,
notably within the G20 and in Europe,
on the impacts of financial opacity.
Beyond, money laundering is found
to have played a role in the Mexican (1994–
1995) and Thai (1997) financial crises, further
highlighting the global stability concern
raised by the illicit economy 92 .
confined to a law enforcement issue. Clearly,
there is a need to fundamentally rethink
the way organized crime is defined and understood.
As for the recent political will displayed
against financial opacity, it has yet to
pass the test of time.
Conclusion
While the international community
concerns tend to remain
focused around terrorism and
weapons of mass destruction, the illicit
economy became both a suppletive and an
alternative model of development attracting
a new type of criminals, state. Yet, by lack
of awareness, the links between crime, illicit
trades, economy, and states remain poorly
studied and rarely debated 93 .
Even though a global and national
security concern, transnational organized
crime and illicit trades remain too often
90
Le Monde, December 1, 2011.
91
Michael Findley, Daniel Nielson, and Jason Sharman, Global Shell Games: Testing Money Launderers' and
Terrorist Financiers' Access to Shell Companies (World Bank, 2012), 33, The puppet Masters, October 2011, 284.
92
Guilhem Favre, “Prospering on Crime: Money Laundering and Financial Crisis”, Centre for East and South-
East Asian Studies, 2005.
93
A welcome initiative, the OECD launched in 2012 new activities aiming to quantify the impacts of illicit
trade and the illegal economy on economic growth, sustainable development and global security.
44