Financial Crime In the EU

There is little doubt that a series of EU Directives on money laundering and on public procurement have not reduced the incidence of financial crime in public contracts, in banking transactions, or in dealings among the "vulnerable" professions (mainly accountants, lawyers, and notaries). It is the convincingly argued thesis of this book that this failure stems directly from the dependence of these EU Directives on national laws criminal records. Harmonisation of these laws, the book demonstrates, is not only necessary but urgent. In eighteen incisive essays, leading European authorities in the field provide in-depth discussion of such elements of the subject as methodologies for collecting criminal records, the authorities maintaining such records, the contents of such records and who has access to them, and conflicts with human rights and privacy legislation. The authors show that these factors and other vary enormously from country to country. They recommend EU initiatives that clearly mandate such specifications as the following: # efficient exchange of criminal record data among national authorities; # which crimes lead to compulsory exclusion from employment, membership, or participation in banking or public tenders; # the specific types of employment, membership and participation affected; # erasure period for convictions; # level of acces for banks, professional associations, and tendering authorities to criminal records; and # exchange of criminal record data in the framework of EU data protection legislation. Standing as it does at a pressure point where criminal law collides with human rights on the one hand and public contracts on the other, this seminal work has a great deal to offer interested parties in several diverse fields of law and administration. The findings and recommendations of its authors are sure to evoke debate across a broad spectrum of academic, professional, and policymaking endeavour.

Preface; C. Stefanou, H. Xanthaki 1. National Criminal Records as a Means of Combatting Organised Crime: Final Report; H. Xanthaki 2. National Criminal Records and Organised Crime: A Comparative Analysis; H. Xanthaki 3. National Criminal Records as a Means of Combatting Organised Crime: The Political Parameters; C. Stefanou 4. Exchange of Information Included in the Criminal Records within the EU: Human Rights Considerations; A. Xanthaki 5. Criminal Records and Organised Crime in Austria; R. Kert 6. Criminal Records and Organised Crime in Belgium; J. Simon 7. Criminal Records and Organised Crime in Denmark; K. Brant Hansen 8. Criminal Records and Organised Crime in England and Wales; L. Webley 9. Criminal Records and Organised Crime in Finland; K. Mäkelä 10. Criminal Records and Organised Crime in France; F. Havard 11. Criminal Records and Organised Crime in Germany; L. Boellinger 12. Criminal Records and Organised Crime in Greece; O. Andritsou 13. Criminal Records and Organised Crime in Italy; A. Di Nicola, B. Vettori 14. Criminal Records and Organised Crime in the Netherlands; O. Jansen 15. Criminal Records and Organised Crime in Spain; F. J. García Fernández 16. Criminal Records and Organised Crime in Sweden; A. Kjellgren 17. Criminal Records in the EU and the Protection of the Single Market: Possible Ways Forward for Cooperation; S. White 18. Concluding Remarks; C. Stefanou, H. Xanthaki