Legalization of criminally obtained property committed by organized criminal groups: European and Ukrainian standards

Abstract

The phenomenon of money laundering as a result of the actions of criminal groups is a negative factor in the global development of the international community. The need for this study is due to the increase in the scale of such criminal acts that negatively affect the development of the state, threatening the rule of law and security of the state in general and society in particular; lack of legislative and practical basis for combating this phenomenon. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to define the concept and the essence of money laundering by organized criminal groups and elaborate scientifically sound measures to combat this phenomenon in terms of European and Ukrainian dimensions. Several methods were used in the study, in particular: dialectical, system-structural, historical-legal and formal-logical. Leading research method was comparative method, which helped to characterize the specifics of criminal law protection of public relations arising from money laundering in Ukraine, Western European countries, and the United States. The authors determine the national policy of Ukraine against crimes committed by organized groups is characterized by the obsolescence of the regulatory and legal framework, gaps in the organization of combating such types of crimes, reduction of special units in the police, and insufficient level of cooperation of state bodies. The collected original empirical material will allow theorists in this field to continue their research and effectively counteract this negative phenomenon.

Current trends in international organised crime combating cooperation

“…Legan (2021a) identified the peculiarities of international cooperation and the criminological principles of preventing and combating certain types of transnational crime within the framework of the UN, Interpol, and Europol. R. Orlovsky (2023) analysed the sphere of combating money laundering and, using the comparative method, characterises the specifics of criminal law relations in Ukraine, Western Europe and the United States. The study emphasises the impossibility of combating transnational high-tech crimes within the borders of only one state.…”