The European Pharmaceutical Sector and Crime Vulnerabilities

The influence of organised crime on business activities, enterprises and economic sectors is a matter of concern for many policy makers across the world. As a profit driven criminal activity, organised crime operates in an environment which is not limited to the underworld economy alone. Assessments of the threat posed by organised crime and strategic (preventive) actions to tackle this phenomenon require an understanding of the vulnerable spots in the legal economy that are or might be exploited by crime. This book is the outcome of a study known under the acronym MAVUS II (Method for and Assessment of Vulnerability of Sectors II) which addresses this issue. The study, financed under the 2005 AGIS programme of the European Commission, provides a vulnerability profile of the European pharmaceutical sector based on a new methodology to scan economic sectors for their vulnerability to (organised) crime. Both vulnerability study and methodological tool are intended as a guide for actions and initiatives to be taken by governments, law enforcement bodies and economic players.