Friday

22nd Sep 2023

Human trafficking is 'modern day slavery'

Human trafficking is the slavery of our times with the victims a tiny cog in a corruption machine that involves highly-organised criminal gangs working across several member states, say experts.

Addressing a special committee on crime at the European Parliament on Tuesday (19 February), the EU’s anti-trafficking coordinator Myria Vassiliadou told euro-deputies that “those capable of controlling the entire trafficking process, including high end corruption and money laundering” are behind human trafficking.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • The victims are most often society's vulnerable (Photo: Hans Op De Beeck)

The victims are most often society’s vulnerable.

Children forced into begging, girls prostituted against their will, desperate others seeking honest work but then caught up in sweat shop conditions are among the more common profiles of the trafficked.

“It is the slavery of our times,” said Vassiliadou.

The criminal gangs involved have well-established logistical bases and contacts in source, transit, and destination countries, says the EU police agency Europol.

Crooked cops

Some of those contacts are corrupt police officers in member states, said Francois Farcy, a director in Belgium’s Federal Police, at a separate panel on intelligence led policing against organised transnational crime.

“There are corrupt policemen in every member state,” said Farcy.

His statement was backed by Oliver Huth of the Federal German Association of Detective Officers and Crime Investigators. He noted that police corruption has both national and international dimensions.

Drew Harris from the UK’s crime operations department suggested police investigators working on sensitive cases should be vetted throughout their careers to guarantee integrity.

Human trafficking is a lucrative business.

Estimates on the global profit generated every year hovers at around €25 billion.

“We need to take away the financial incentives and go after the organised criminal networks,” said Vassiliadou.

Fake art and money laundering

The cash flow generated is then laundered. Banks, insurance companies, and money transfer services are the most common vehicles.

But there are other more elaborate techniques.

In some cases, criminals convert cash into casino chips and then back again after having gambled a small amount. Online casino sites offer additional protection because the servers which host them and their virtual accounts are often hidden or shielded.

Others hold fake art auctions. The criminal transfers the amount to be laundered to a contact who then buys the fake art. The sale makes the money legitimate.

Fictitious trials are also used to launder money.

The gang sets up two companies. One then sues the other for an alleged breach of contract accompanied by a claim for compensation.

The defendant company then agrees to the demands of the plaintiff. The illicit cash is transferred through the court system and then becomes legitimate.

The European Commission, for its part, has tabled a number of EU laws to stem money laundering.

In early February, the Brussels-executive proposed a legislative update to improve the so-called third anti-money laundering directive launched in 2006. The proposal also aims to improve the funds transfer regulation.

The updated directive proposals drop the current threshold of cash payments. Those exchanging a minimum of €7,500 in cash are now flagged, down from the original €15,000.

The slaves on our streets

There are roads in Europe where African slaves are forced to wander, day and night, under scorching sun and pouring rain.

'For me, Europe was golden'

Few have suffered so brutally from this modern-day slave trade as African women. Often a burden already at birth, they are lured to Europe by friends, neighbours or family members.

Demand for forced labour increasing in EU

The economic crisis is leading to a rise in the number of people being trafficked for sex, hard labour or organ donation, but the vast majority of member states have failed to implement an anti-trafficking law.

Opinion

Small businesses: silent sufferers in the economic crisis

The economic crisis is also playing havoc with entrepreneurs and small businesses who face financial ruin when their bills don't get paid. In Hungary, writes the Magdolna Csath, the situation is undermining societal cohesion.

Opinion

Orbán's 'revenge law' is an Orwellian crackdown on education

On Tuesday, the Hungarian parliament passed a troubling piece of legislation known by its critics as the 'revenge law', which aims to punish and intimidate teachers who dare to defy Viktor Orbán's regime. This law is a brutally oppressive tool.

Latest News

  1. Report: Tax richest 0.5%, raise €213bn for EU coffers
  2. EU aid for Africa risks violating spending rules, Oxfam says
  3. Activists push €40bn fossil subsidies into Dutch-election spotlight
  4. Europe must Trump-proof its Ukraine arms supplies
  5. Antifascism and fascism are opposites, whatever elites say
  6. MEPs back Germany's Buch to lead ECB supervisory arm
  7. Russia to blame for Azerbaijan attack, EU says
  8. Fresh dispute may delay EU-wide migration reforms

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  2. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  3. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  4. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us