Drugs and Money: Managing the drugs trade and crime-money in Europe

摘要

As the authors say, nowadays, it is not drug-related behaviour alone that is the subject of control; drug finances are even more subject to official scrutiny. This book is about drug money, the finances connected to the drugs economy, whether through money laundering or drugs money from illicit markets. The central theme revolves around the way money from drug markets is invested. It involves an analysis of official statistics on money laundering-particularly those produced by the Financial Action Task-force, a body derided by these authors-alongside data from confiscation and seizure surveys, as well as the investments made by 'Big Earners' of their ill-gotten gains. The analysis is careful and well considered, producing sobering conclusions-albeit recognized as based upon a limited amount of empirical data, itself with numerous defects and anomalies. The authors main conclusion is that there is no definitive answer to questions about the amount of drug money in existence, or its dangerousness. The grounds for fear of the harm from drugs money are not as well established as claimed (page 135).