Financial Crime World

Belgium’s Efforts to Combat Organized Crime: Challenges and Opportunities

Legislative Framework

Belgium has taken significant steps to combat organized crime through its legislative framework.

  • Ratification of International Conventions: Belgium has ratified international conventions against organized crime, including the European Convention on Extradition and its protocols.
  • Dedicated Section for Organized Crime: The country has a dedicated section for organized crime within the federal public prosecutor’s office.
  • Criminalization of Involvement in Organized-Crime Activities: The national criminal code criminalizes involvement in organized-crime activities.

Judiciary and Law Enforcement

Belgium’s judiciary is independent, guaranteeing due process in criminal trials. However, there are challenges to be addressed:

  • Independent Judiciary: Belgium’s judiciary is independent, ensuring that justice is served fairly.
  • Specialized Units for Organized Crime: The federal police have specialized units to detect, investigate, and destabilize criminal organizations.
  • Understaffing and Resource Constraints: Both the federal and local police are understaffed and lack resources to deal with organized crime effectively.

Economic and Financial Environment

Belgium has mechanisms in place to combat money laundering, but there are concerns about prioritizing predicate offenses over money laundering investigations:

  • Combating Money Laundering: Belgium has mechanisms to combat money laundering.
  • Collaborative Platform against Money Laundering: A new collaborative platform against money laundering has been launched to improve information exchange and expertise sharing.
  • Regulation of Crypto-Service Providers: Recent amendments to the anti-money laundering act aim to regulate specific crypto-service providers better.

Civil Society and Social Protection

Belgium has policies in place to assist victims of human trafficking, including temporary and permanent residency rights for cooperating victims:

  • Support Services for Victims: The country implements preventive strategies against organized crime, such as national action plans targeting specific crimes.
  • Civil Society’s Role: Civil society plays an important role in providing support services to vulnerable groups.
  • Press Freedom Under Threat: Press freedom is under threat due to police violence, online hate, and government directives.

Challenges

Belgium faces several challenges in its efforts to combat organized crime:

  • Location on Major Trafficking Routes: Belgium’s location on major trafficking routes makes it vulnerable to organized crime.
  • Vulnerability to Cyber-Infiltration: Changes in the cyber-security landscape have left Belgium vulnerable to cyber-infiltration.
  • Ports and Airports as Transit Hubs for Illicit Products: The country’s ports and airports are key transit hubs for illicit products.

Overall, while Belgium has made efforts to combat organized crime, there are still challenges to be addressed, including understaffing and resource constraints in law enforcement, prioritization of predicate offenses over money laundering investigations, and threats to press freedom.