Criminological Perspective of the Phenomenon of Money Laundering in Southeast Europe: the case of Romania

Abstract

The phenomenon of money laundering is currently present in the economy of the countries in Southeast Europe more than it has been viewed a few years ago. The acceleration of criminal phenomenon appears as a general feature for the entire criminality, but it seems to be more developed in the field of money laundering. It is obvious that, in certain circumstances, this kind of economic crime follows the transnational trend and becomes internationalized. This modus operandi is particularly viewed in the Southeast European countries, in which the perpetrators are looking for committing such crimes through establishing specific transnational crime schemes. The so-called ”changing economy” after Pandemic crisis has had repercussions in several fields of society, one of them being connected to the economic facilities. In this unprecise context, the money laundering has become developed, despite the judicial authoritiesʼ involvement in adopting appropriate legal instruments in the field of fighting criminality, including the money laundering. The current paper focuses on analyzing the economic crimes, particular attention being paid on the money laundering in the area of Southeast Europe, with special target to the case of Romania. The paper approaches the causes, conditions and factors which produce the phenomenon of money laundering, from a conceptual perspective along with the jurisprudential approach, as well as the consequences of the phenomenon in a regional context. The research conducted on this topic has concluded that the phenomenon of money laundering is currently present in the Romanian business companies, which have expanded their connections to the European one being aggressive and producing unfortunate consequences for the entire economy of country. In this regard, it is very important to highlight some pertinent solutions to be taken into account by the legal authorities in order to enhance the legal framework in the matter of combatting the phenomenon of money laundering. DOI: https://doi.org/10.53486/cike2023.62; UDC: 343.37(498); JEL: K14; K42