Maria Jofre

The introduction section highlights the potential exploitation of financial technology, particularly cryptocurrencies, for terrorist financing, emphasizing the need for empirical research on the involvement of political extremist groups, such as right-wing extremists. Despite theoretical arguments suggesting vulnerabilities in the financial system, limited empirical evidence exists on the extent of cryptocurrency funding within these groups. The chapter aims to address this gap by conducting the first empirical analysis on the financing activities of extreme right-wing groups in the United States.

Este estudio analiza los avances y desafíos en la implementación de registros de beneficiarios finales en América Latina a partir de los casos de Chile y México. Aunque ninguno de los dos países cuenta aún con un registro nacional centralizado plenamente operativo, ambos han desarrollado mecanismos sectoriales y reformas parciales que sientan bases para modelos más integrados. Chile ha avanzado con un proyecto de ley específico y el uso de datos de beneficiarios finales en compras públicas, mientras que México ha impulsado la interoperabilidad de registros y proyectos piloto a nivel subnacional. El análisis, basado en marcos legales, institucionales y técnicos, evalúa la hipótesis de que la falta de condiciones para la adopción de un registro centralizado puede ser compensada mediante un enfoque progresivo basado en sectores estratégicos. Los hallazgos muestran que las trayectorias de Chile y México ofrecen orientaciones prácticas para avanzar hacia sistemas interoperables, verificables y orientados al uso efectivo de la información en la región.

Darknet drug vending is a hybrid crime. Although many activities occur online, the delivery of drugs to buyers requires a shift from the digital to the physical realm. This transition could be considered risky for vendors; while the online side provides anonymity, the offline side may expose vendors to increased opportunity for monitoring, evidence gathering and potential enforcement. This research examines data from 80 arrest cases and 279 news reports to study these dynamics. The results, which are analysed under the framework of routine activity theory, reveal that the offline side of darknet drug vending, short of being entirely risky, actually provides some interesting criminal opportunities for vendors, as they may capitalise on the advantages of using the postal service for delivery and operating out of an enclosed base of operations for management. Remarks are made in reference to the wider implications of offline criminal opportunities for darknet drug vendors in Europe and beyond.

The organizational structures of cybercriminal groups have attracted significant attention in criminological research. However, empirical evidence on the topic remains scarce and inconclusive. To address this knowledge gap, the present study investigates the internal dynamics of the Conti group, one of the most prominent ransomware groups in recent years, using social network analysis and qualitative content analysis. Leveraging a unique dataset of 168,740 leaked chat messages, our analysis unveils a hierarchical structure within the criminal group that mirrors those found in legitimate businesses, characterized by discernible leadership roles and a clear division of tasks. These results improve our understanding of how cybercrime groups are organized and how the online dimension affects their activities, contributing to both criminological research and policy discussions.

Bid-rigging harms economies and societies. While existing research has primarily focused on quantifying the economic damages resulting from bid-rigging cartels, there is a relative dearth of studies exploring how firms interact and the specific techniques they use to rig tenders. Our paper examines the bidding behaviours associated with bid-rigging. Specifically, we investigate how cartel companies exploit legal opportunities, engage in joint and similar bidding and adapt tactics based on the number of colluding bidders. Our study relies on judicial evidence and a dataset of 1,242 companies (including 112 colluding entities) participating in 357 roadwork bid auctions in Italy. Through bootstrap logistic regressions, we analyse company-level indicators and their association with cartel involvement. The results reveal that cartels frequently exploit subcontracts and price similarity. Moreover, we find that bid-rigging tactics vary depending on the number of bidding cartel companies involved. When colluding companies are the majority of bidders, cartels rely on widespread member participation to cover a broad range of prices. Conversely, when cartel companies constitute less than half of the bidders, they tend to form temporary associations. These findings untangle the complexity inherent in cartel agreements and strategies, highlighting the importance of assessing firm interactions and relational patterns within co-bidding networks for a comprehensive understanding of collusive dynamics.