Criminal participation in the legal economy during a health crisis: A screening of the Italian economy during 2020 and 2021

This paper investigates patterns of suspicious participation into the legal economy during the coronavirus pandemic (2020-2021), with a focus on the Italian context. Moving beyond traditional reliance on law enforcement or judicial data, it applies a proxy-based methodology to identify red-flags in...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Giovanni Nicolazzo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Journal of Economic Criminology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949791425000314
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849770140995944448
author Giovanni Nicolazzo
author_facet Giovanni Nicolazzo
author_sort Giovanni Nicolazzo
collection DOAJ
description This paper investigates patterns of suspicious participation into the legal economy during the coronavirus pandemic (2020-2021), with a focus on the Italian context. Moving beyond traditional reliance on law enforcement or judicial data, it applies a proxy-based methodology to identify red-flags in company ownership structures that may signal potential criminal influence. By comparing incorporations and ownership changes before and during the pandemic, the study highlights shifts in the frequency and distribution of selected suspicious features. As an initial academic application of screening techniques, the study offers a practical framework for monitoring emerging trends in the criminal involvement within the legal economy and lays the groundwork for further methodological refinement in this field.
format Article
id doaj-art-8b8b7014d2e24eccb782790aa5937cec
institution DOAJ
issn 2949-7914
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Journal of Economic Criminology
spelling doaj-art-8b8b7014d2e24eccb782790aa5937cec2025-08-20T03:03:08ZengElsevierJournal of Economic Criminology2949-79142025-06-01810015510.1016/j.jeconc.2025.100155Criminal participation in the legal economy during a health crisis: A screening of the Italian economy during 2020 and 2021Giovanni Nicolazzo0Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, ItalyThis paper investigates patterns of suspicious participation into the legal economy during the coronavirus pandemic (2020-2021), with a focus on the Italian context. Moving beyond traditional reliance on law enforcement or judicial data, it applies a proxy-based methodology to identify red-flags in company ownership structures that may signal potential criminal influence. By comparing incorporations and ownership changes before and during the pandemic, the study highlights shifts in the frequency and distribution of selected suspicious features. As an initial academic application of screening techniques, the study offers a practical framework for monitoring emerging trends in the criminal involvement within the legal economy and lays the groundwork for further methodological refinement in this field.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949791425000314Criminal participationHealth crisis pandemicOwnership structuresRisk indicators
spellingShingle Giovanni Nicolazzo
Criminal participation in the legal economy during a health crisis: A screening of the Italian economy during 2020 and 2021
Journal of Economic Criminology
Criminal participation
Health crisis pandemic
Ownership structures
Risk indicators
title Criminal participation in the legal economy during a health crisis: A screening of the Italian economy during 2020 and 2021
title_full Criminal participation in the legal economy during a health crisis: A screening of the Italian economy during 2020 and 2021
title_fullStr Criminal participation in the legal economy during a health crisis: A screening of the Italian economy during 2020 and 2021
title_full_unstemmed Criminal participation in the legal economy during a health crisis: A screening of the Italian economy during 2020 and 2021
title_short Criminal participation in the legal economy during a health crisis: A screening of the Italian economy during 2020 and 2021
title_sort criminal participation in the legal economy during a health crisis a screening of the italian economy during 2020 and 2021
topic Criminal participation
Health crisis pandemic
Ownership structures
Risk indicators
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949791425000314
work_keys_str_mv AT giovanninicolazzo criminalparticipationinthelegaleconomyduringahealthcrisisascreeningoftheitalianeconomyduring2020and2021