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Their bosses had not been keen on the idea to begin with, because they were afraid of missing out on the scoop, but not only was there too much to handle, but also the documents were written in various languages and concerned individuals they hardly knew. To make sense of all the data they therefore needed people from different disciplines and of different nationalities. Members of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists secretly researched the papers for almost a year, after which 109 newspapers, broadcast stations and online media exposed the information simultaneously to create a more significant impact. The leak had a massive effect as it caused various direct actions (the dismissal of two prime ministers and hundreds of investigations), legislative actions (a list of non-cooperative tax havens by the EU) and a change in people’s attitudes (demonstrations and public exposure).
13:45 PM ‘Municipalities can play a large role in combating crime’ Public prosecutor Anita van Dis-Setz: Anita van Dis-Setz, addressed the difficulties in combating money laundering. In her view, the police, the public prosecutor’s office and local government authorities can tackle this problem only if they work closely together and with a coordinated response. ‘Quite often, the media shows news about the investment of dirty money in industries such as the hospitality sector or prostitution, and the large-scale trade in real estate,’ said Anita van Dis-Setz. ‘Each year, billions of euros of criminal money are laundered in the Netherlands. We don’t have an exact figure, but research shows that it amounts to around two to three per cent of our gross domestic product. In monetary terms, this means a sum of between 16 and 18 billion euros is laundered in the Netherlands each year.’
Move swiftly
A criminal uses his money first and foremost to finance new crimes. Van Dis-Setz: ‘However, criminal money doesn’t just facilitate investments in new criminal projects. A criminal likes to show off his criminal lifestyle and will subsequently invest in our legal economy. Since the criminal money can be used for legitimate purposes in everyday life, money laundering stimulates a repetitious cycle of criminal activities. The district court of Amsterdam once considered in its verdicts that “macho behaviour” by criminals creates the impression, especially among young people, that earning money in a regular way is only for losers. This role-model behaviour is extremely subversive. Therefore, it is absolutely crucial to move swiftly in seizing any ill-gotten gains from these criminals.’ The public prosecutor described the Dutch anti-money laundering strategy: ‘It goes without saying that if money is an important motive for crime, then you should take away the gains. This is the obvious first move but, unfortunately, it is easier said than done. Partly because of the lack of good financial police, but for a large part because the dirty money is so well hidden. To launder money, you need other people to set up structures or mechanisms, to purchase real estate, to buy or set up companies, or to make investments abroad. And these are often individuals and companies that play a role in regular economic activities. Thus, a mixture of the illegal and legal worlds emerges quite quickly, and legal structures are used for criminal activities.’