Research project
Tackling subversion and financial and economic crime
This research group focuses on the theme of subversion and financial and economic crime, and how this is tackled in a number of specific subareas.
- Contact
- Marieke Kluin
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The term ‘subversion’ is used by the Dutch government as a collective term for illegal activities that exploit legitimate businesses and services or where the outcomes of these activities have a disruptive impact on public sectors. Subversive behaviour blurs the boundaries between legitimate businesses and the underworld, and criminal activities are embedded in society in at least a socio-economic way. These activities particularly affect the integrity of the social, economic and political system and may result in its deterioration. Given the potential implications of subversion for both the government and wider society, tackling subversion is a priority on a local, national and international level.
The necessary research into subversion is already being conducted at Dutch universities and beyond. Our research focuses on three subareas. Firstly, definitions of the problem: what are we talking about and what is the specific problem? The second subarea covers the phenomenon and certain specific cases. Here, our research focuses on several cases including labour exploitation, other forms of exploitation, environmental crime and other forms of financial and economic crime. We also focus on the protection of the democratic state under the rule of law. Various questions are addressed within the second subarea, for example questions about perpetrators, victims, potential damage, how it relates to legally protected interests and perceptions of that among citizens. The third subarea deals with how this is addressed by criminal law and in other ways (administrative law, tax law and through self-regulation), its effectiveness and the legal justification of criminal measures and other measures. It explores which enforcement models are currently being used and which enforcement models should be used from both an effectiveness and a normative perspective.
Research themes
Although much has become known about the characteristics and modus operandi of specific forms of subversion over time, this phenomenon is still very much underexplored. Three research themes require investigation: definition, phenomenon and organisation or enforcement.
First of all, there appears to be limited consensus on the exact meaning of ‘subversive activities’ (on both a centralised and a decentralised level). The existing literature contains limited consistent guidance on defining subversion, and no clarification can be derived from legislation, policy or case law either.
Secondly, there is insufficient insight into the nature and scope of the problem, the existing and potential damage caused by subversion and how citizens perceive it. Where does subversion take place, under which circumstances does it manifest itself (the causes and consequences) and who are the direct and indirect perpetrators and victims? And can these overlap in the latter context? In particular, there is limited knowledge of how subversion permeates society and the extent to which the intertwining of legitimate and criminal businesses and services pose a threat to public security, national legitimacy, the living environment and competition within the economic market, the government’s functioning and which individual and collective legal property and interests are endangered or harmed by subversion. The research mainly focuses on topics beyond drug-related crime, as mentioned above, which are associated with subversion.
Thirdly, ambiguity around the concept of subversion raises questions about the link between the phenomenon and how it is currently tackled. While there is an increased focus on the question of which legal or integrated approach is most suitable, there is no overview of the various enforcement models for tackling subversion. Even less is known about which preventive and reactive enforcement models are most suitable for combatting subversion, also in the light of the various typologies of the phenomenon. The general complexity of this field also complicates the appreciation for general and specific strategies and instruments from the perspective of legality, legal protection and substantive and procedural justice.
The figure below provides an overview (currently only available in Dutch).
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Researchers
Lisa Ansems
Arjan Blokland
Jelle Brands
Fallon Cooper
Jan Crijns
Marcel de Groodt
Babette van Hazebroek
Boudewijn de Jonge
David Emmelkamp
Sjoerd Lopik
Marieke Kluin
Maarten Kunst
Anna Mosna
Jannemieke Ouwerkerk
Marcel Pheijffer
Anke Ramakers
Rafael Ruschel
David Sander
Ieke de Vries
Marijke Veerman
Jeroen ten Voorde
Nieke Verschaeren
Definitions
Longitudinal research into human trafficking
Researcher: Ilse Ras
Ilse Ras is conducting longitudinal research into media coverage of human trafficking. This research focuses on the perception of human trafficking and exploitation in media, corporate communications and political debate.
Phenomenon and case studies
Perceptions of environmental crime
Researchers: Lisa Ansems, Marieke Kluin, Jelle Brands and Anke Ramakers
This project and its subprojects will explore the various types of perceptions and responses to environmental crime among citizens (cognitive, affective, normative and conative), how those perceptions and responses can be identified andwhich factors influence them.
Trust in public institutions after charges against Tata Steel
Researcher: Lisa Ansems
This project involves qualitative research on trust in public institutions among citizens who brought criminal charges against Tata Steel. In particular, it explores what contributes to these citizens’ high or low levels of trust in the various public institutions involved in enforcement and the role of perceived procedural justice and effectiveness in this.
Youth involvement in organised crime: victimisation experiences and victim support in focus
Researchers: Fallon Cooper, Ieke de Vries, Babette Hazebroek, Maarten Kunst and Arjan Blokland
The current Dutch cabinet’s ‘highest priority’ is tackling organised, subversive crime, with a firm commitment to preventing young people from being recruited into organised crime activities and ‘turning into major criminals’. However, despite widespread concerns about the recruitment of young people into organised crime, the mechanisms by which they become involved and the harmful impact they may experience as a result of their involvement remain under-researched topics in academic literature. This PhD research is funded by a starter grant and analyses victimisation experiences and victim support for young people involved in organised crime through three aspects. These aspects are potential risk factors (the individual’s characteristics, life course and environment prior to involvement), the nature and extent of involvement in organised crime and the time of identification as a victim of criminal exploitation and the impact of identifying as a victim on the individual’s life course. These three aspects are studied from the perspectives of 1) young people; 2) parties in the criminal justice system (who may formally identify a young person as a victim or offender); and 3) based on national registration data on young people’s life course characteristics.
The corporate life cycle
Researchers: Marieke Kluin, Arjan Blokland, Wim Huisman, Jelmar Meester and Frederike Oberheim
Inspired by the criminological approach of life course criminology, Marieke Kluin, in collaboration with Arjan Blokland (Leiden University/NSCR) and Wim Huisman (VU Amsterdam), is investigating the application of life course criminology and criminal careers to white-collar crime. Using longitudinal research, they are studying corporate criminal careers (Blokland et al., 2021 Wu et al., 2024). Companies also have a ‘life cycle’ and within business studies, a distinction is made between the various phases of a company’s life cycle. Meanwhile, research (Kluin et al., 2018) shows that companies differ in their pattern of rule violation. In addition to this research, PhD student Jelmar Meester is currently investigating Dutch inland shipping in collaboration with the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT). PhD student Frederike Oberheim is researching the financial sector in collaboration with De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) and the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM).
Looking beyond the victim: the role of the environment in child sexual exploitation
Researcher: Ieke de Vries
Although sexual exploitation has featured highly on national and international policy agendas for many years now, knowledge gaps on risk factors for victimisation hinder effective strategies. With unique data on individuals, their living environments and innovative methods, this Veni grant-funded project adds new insights on risk and the risk distribution among victims of sexual exploitation. This will allow early identification or even prevention of victimisation.
Enforcement
‘Supraversion’ and criminal law principles
Researcher: Jan Crijns
Jan Crijns’ research and teaching primarily focuses on enforcement, and especially how criminal and administrative law enforcement converges and merges. Partly for this reason, Jan is increasingly involved in financial-economic law and enforcement towards legal persons; the latter through a number of PhD projects:
- Marijke Veerman –The apparent elusiveness of multinational banks to law enforcement through the state judicial system
- David Sander – Companies’ rights to a fair trial in criminal proceedings
- Sjoerd Lopik – The role of criminal law within the legal response to climate change
- David Emmelkamp – The legal position of legal persons in public sanctions law
- Nieke Verschaeren – Diversity within enforcement systems
‘Supraversion’ and criminal law principles
Researcher: Marcel de Groodt
One area of this PhD research focuses on identifying and valuing enforcement models where the government uses information obtained through private parties, other than private investigators and investigative journalists. This research explores enforcement models in which parties are obliged, under threat of criminal provisions or otherwise, to supply information and forms in which parties voluntarily cooperate with the authorities and supply information in return for payment. The question that arises with regard to these enforcement models is how they relate to criminal law principles, and in particular the self-incrimination principle.
Serious environmental crime: the effectiveness of criminal sanctions
Researchers: Marieke Kluin and Lisa Ansems
The Research and Data Centre (WODC) and the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security have commissioned Marieke Kluin and Lisa Ansems to conduct qualitative and legal research into the effectiveness of criminal sanctions in response to serious environmental offences. This involves identifying the current legal options, which sanctions are used in practice, existing obstacles, which sanctions are most effective under which circumstances and in which ways the use of sanctions can be improved.
Criminal law and climate change
Researcher: Sjoerd Lopik
Sjoerd Lopik is researching the role of criminal law within the legal response to climate change. He is investigating the potential for criminalising greenhouse gas emissions based on general principles of criminal law such as legality and causality. He is also exploring climate legislation that can be enforced through special criminal law, the potential for criminalising greenwashing and the added value of criminalising ecocide.
Dynamics of judicial scrutiny in cross-border evidence gathering
Researcher: Anna Mosna
This research project is embedded in the EU JUST Action Grant Project ‘Mould EIO Review’ (MEIOR) and coordinated by Professor Michele Panzavolta (KU Leuven) and Anna Mosna. It is being conducted in collaboration with the University of Padua (Professor Marcello Daniele), the University of Gdansk (Professor Slawomir Steinborn), the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Professor Lorena Bachmaier Winter) and the University of Uppsala (Professor Maria Bergström). Anna Mosna's research focuses on transnational investigations conducted through a European Investigation Order (EIO) and analyses the minimum requirements for effective judicial protection. The aim of the research is to develop guidelines for stakeholders as well as policy and legislation for better cross-border legal protection. The research also covers investigations by the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) into crimes that affect the European Union's financial interests, such as money laundering and tax fraud.
Right to silence in administrative punitive proceedings
Researcher: Anna Mosna
This research is part of an EUAF Action Grant Project coordinated by Professor Michele Panzavolta and Anna Mosna and is being conducted in collaboration with the Luiss university in Rome. It focuses on the extent to which the self-incrimination principle also applies to administrative and European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) investigations. Placing the difference between administrative and criminal proceedings in perspective, it is important to examine which fundamental principles and rights traditionally considered criminal proceedings should also apply to administrative proceedings, including tax, market abuse and competition investigations. The research aims to develop guidelines for stakeholders including OLAF and contribute to a unified approach to protecting the right to remain silent.
Challenges of Digitalisation for Criminal Laws Protecting State and Democracy
Researchers: Jannemieke Ouwerkerk and Jeroen ten Voorde
This comparative law ECPI project is coordinated by Professor Frank Zimmerman (University of Münster) and investigates the extent to which criminal law protects democracy and the state in times of digitalisation. The research focuses on political fake news, providers’ responsibility for illegal content on their networks and digital attacks on vital infrastructure, aiming to draw up draft recommendations for legislation and policy.
Companies’ rights to a fair trial in criminal proceedings
Researcher: David Sander
In this PhD research project, David Sander explores the special due process issues that suspicious legal persons may experience, noting in particular that the issues in question are not, less often, less likely or differently perceived by suspected natural persons than by legal persons. A follow-up question is how these issues can be further interpreted and categorised. The aim is also to value the issues normatively and, where any problems are identified, to explore potential avenues for solving them.
The apparent elusiveness of multinational banks to law enforcement through the state judicial system
Researcher: Marijke Veerman
Multinationals can appear to be elusive to enforcement through the state judicial system, both within criminal law and private law. On a somewhat regular basis, enforcement encounters jurisdictional problems, issues regarding limitations in the range of sanctions and the excessive implications of sanctions. This not only results in negative public responses – it also affects the legitimacy and effectiveness of the state judicial system. Possible solutions to this are settlements (with the Dutch Public Prosecution Service and in private contexts) and arbitration, but are these solutions desirable? Are other solutions possible that would help the traditional legal system engage multinationals? This PhD research looks for answers from criminal and private law, drawing inspiration from criminology and economics.
- Bhimani, S., de Vries, I., Sneesby, A., Farrell, A. & Maass, K. The ties that link us: Uncovering the socio-technic connections of labor trafficking networks. Production and Operations Management (forthcoming in 2024).
- Blokland A.A.J., Kluin M.H.A. & Huisman W. (2021), Life-course criminology and corporate offending. In: Rooij B. van & Sokol D.D. (red.) The Cambridge Handbook of Compliance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 684-704.
- J.H. Crijns, M. Haentjes & R.C.P. Haentjes (red.), The enforcement of EU financial law, Oxford: Hart Publishing 2022.
- J.H. Crijns, Rechterlijke toetsing van hoge transacties in strafzaken: contracteren onder toezicht, in: C.G. Breedveld-de Voogd e.a. (red.), Sluitertijd – Reflecties op het werk van Jaap Hijma, Deventer: Wolters Kluwer 2020, p. 389-403.
- Farrell, A., Dank, M., de Vries, I., Kafafian, M., Hughes, A., & Lockwood, S. (2019). Failing victims? Challenges of the police response to human trafficking. Criminology & Public Policy, 18(3), 649-673.
- Farrell, A., Bright, K., de Vries, I., Pfeffer, R., & Dank, M. (2020). Policing labor trafficking in the United States. Trends in Organized Crime, 23, 36-56.
- Kluin M.H.A., Blokland A.A.J., Huisman W., Peeters M.P., Wiering E. & Jaspers S.J. (2018), Patronen in regelovertreding in de chemische industrie, Tijdschrift voor Criminologie 60(4): 421-454.
- Kluin M.H.A., Wiering E., Peeters M.P., Blokland A.A.J. & Huisman W. (2020), Regelovertreding en incidenten bij Brzo-bedrijven: een longitudinale benadering. Den Haag: Boom criminologie.
- Van Meeteren, M. & de Vries, I. (2023). De noodzaak van een holistische benadering bij de aanpak van arbeidsuitbuiting. In: Y. Erkens, C. de Groot, C. van Oostrum (Eds.). Phanta Rhei: Recht een duurzaamheid (pp. 81-6). Boom juridisch
- Mosna A. & Soana G. (2023) NFTs and the virtual yet concrete art of money laundering, Computer Law and Security Review 51, 1-10.
- Mosna A. (2022) Give art market regulation a chance, Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law, 29(3), 304-327.
- Mosna A. (2022) More than Antiquities Trafficking: The Issue is Antiquities Laundering, in Fabiani M.D., Burmon K.M. & Hufnagel S. (eds.), Global Perspectives on Cultural Property Crime, Routledge, 99-118
- Mosna A. & Soana G. (2022) When art goes virtual: what status for collectible NFTs under the current EU Anti Money-Laundering regime, EU Law Analysis
- De Vries, I., & Farrell, A. (2018). Labor trafficking victimizations: Repeat victimization and polyvictimization. Psychology of Violence, 8(5), 630.
- De Vries, I., & Farrell, A. (2023). Explaining the use of traditional law enforcement responses to human trafficking concerns in illicit massage businesses. Justice quarterly, 40(3), 337-362.
- De Vries, I., Jose, M., Farrell, A. (2020). It’s your business: The role of the private sector in human trafficking. In: J. Winterdyk & J. Jones (Eds). The Palgrave International Handbook of Human Trafficking (pp. 745-762). Palgrave Macmillan.
- De Vries, I. (2019). Connected to crime: An exploration of the nesting of labour trafficking and exploitation in legitimate markets. The British Journal of Criminology, 59(1), 209-230.
- Wu, Y., van Rooij, B., & Kluin, M. (2023). Organizational life-cycle analysis of corporate offending: insights into how changes in business cycles interact with regulatory oversight to shape compliance and violations. Crime, Law and Social Change, 1-21.
Recent news items
Activities
- 'Ondermijning 2023' specialisation course
- 'Ondermijning 2024' specialisation course
Society – and therefore many governments – are increasingly facing the consequences of subversion, which include drug-related crime and drug nuisance, human trafficking and criminal exploitation, property fraud, money laundering and cybercrime. This specialisation course intended for employees of RIEC Den Haag (Regionaal Informatie- en Expertise Centrum Den Haag) participants focuses on subversion, with a particular focus on local issues and the role of local authorities in an integrated approach to subversion. Topical local issues are given extensive exposure in order to provide tools for tackling subversion on an administrative level.