Abstract
This paper is about transnational organized crime in the Netherlands and the ways and means necessary to effectively combat it. Most people, when confronted with the question: "What is organized crime? often think of a mafia-like organization, much like the one portrayed in the Godfather-trilogy. As you can see by the criteria stated above, those people are not far off. Even though it is oversimplified and romanticized, it gives a pretty good "laymen's understanding" of what organized crime is. The dictionary defines organized crime as follows: Widespread criminal activities, such as prostitution, interstate theft, or illegal gambling, that occur within a centrally controlled formal structure and the people and the groups involved in such criminal activities. Criminal organizations earn a lot of money with the sale of drugs, firearms, stolen goods, prostitution and the trafficking in human beings. This money is therefore acquired illegally and cannot be spent or used. In order to make use of this money, the organizations need to launder the money. Because of the transnational nature of these criminal organizations, it is usually easier to try and launder the money in another country than the one the money is acquired in. This is easier because it obscures the money trail. If an organization tries to launder the money in the same country, it becomes easier for the authorities to follow the trace.
