Greenlaundering: Joint Crime Ventures and the Legal-Illegal Continuum

• In Event: Greenlaundering, Joint Crime Ventures and Environmental Harm

Abstract

The high value and scarcity of natural resources increasingly attracts criminal entrepreneurs operating in the legal economy. The laundering of natural resources is a prime example where illegally obtained natural resources are converted into legal products on a large scale. To facilitate laundering, crime groups interact with legal actors, like corporations and state actors, as joint crime ventures. Contemporary developments in environmental crime networks signal the expansion of grey areas of business where the overlaps between conventional and non-conventional criminals are crucial in understanding and dealing with the increasing complexities of environmental crime. This presentation focusses on how and why joint crime ventures launder natural resources and what the environmental impact is.

Author

• Daan van Uhm, Utrecht University