Criminal networks are increasingly using corruption, migrant smuggling, and laundering through legitimate businesses like hospitality and logistics to undermine European society, according to a major new threat assessment from Europol.
The European Union Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment 2025 (EU-SOCTA), published this week, warns that the scale and sophistication of organised crime now poses a direct risk to the EU’s internal stability.
“The sectors most vulnerable to infiltration by organised crime include logistics, hospitality, and construction,” the report said.
Infiltration of legitimate businesses
Criminals are using seemingly legitimate companies in sectors such as hospitality, construction and logistics, not only to launder money, but also to traffic drugs, smuggle migrants, and exploit vulnerable workers.
“Criminal networks cooperate with employment agencies and sub-contracting companies to provide a façade of legality,” the report noted.
“These businesses are sometimes owned by members of the criminal networks.”
In the case of labour exploitation, victims are routinely placed in nail salons, construction sites, farms and restaurants. Europol said that trafficked workers were often given false contracts and fraudulent immigration documents to create an appearance of legality.
Corruption “undermines the rule of law and threatens citizens’ trust in democratic institutions”
Corruption was described as a central mechanism enabling this system.
“Corruption is embedded in the very DNA of crime,” the agency stated. “It undermines the rule of law and threatens citizens’ trust in democratic institutions.”
According to the report, corrupt public officials may help criminal networks evade law enforcement, influence policymaking, or facilitate illicit trade by turning a blind eye to regulations. In some cases, this enables criminal groups to manipulate the political or financial systems of entire regions.
Migrant smuggling a “thriving criminal enterprises”
One of the most rapidly growing areas of organised crime is migrant smuggling. Europol described it as a “thriving criminal enterprise” and warned that the exploitation of irregular migration is being used by hostile foreign actors to destabilise the EU.
“The instrumentalisation of irregular migrant flows by hybrid threat actors serve the interests of migrant smuggling criminal network”, the report said, highlighting how smuggling networks were profiting from geopolitical crises.
“Fraudulent legalisation of irregular migrants’ residence status”
Criminal groups have adapted to the migration surge by offering smuggling services via sea, land and air, including the forging of documents and organisation of marriage fraud and sham paternity claims. Europol said these services are often promoted through social media, using videos of successful crossings to advertise to prospective migrants.
“Criminal networks facilitate irregular migrants’ entry into, secondary movements within, and/or exit out of the EU,” the agency noted.
“This may entail the fraudulent legalisation of irregular migrants’ residence status.”
Irregular migrants are smuggled with payments made through cryptocurrency
Routes remain fluid and responsive to political pressure, with recent activity concentrated along the Central and Eastern Mediterranean and Balkan corridors. Some smugglers are now specialising in supplying boats and navigation equipment for Channel crossings to the UK.
Irregular migrants are regularly smuggled in the backs of lorries, fuel tanks, rental cars, and even buses. Some are detained in “safehouses” while in transit, and payment is often made in cryptocurrency to avoid detection.
“Criminal networks continuously respond to opportunities and challenges by shifting routes, modi operandi, and offering crime-as-a-service,” the report said.
Migrant smuggling has major “security, economic and social” consequences
The implications of this business go beyond border security. Europol warned that migrant smuggling has major “security, economic and social” consequences, straining law enforcement and placing lives at risk.
“Violence and recklessness increasingly characterise migrant smuggling,” it said. “Violence targets competing criminal actors, law enforcement officials, and irregular migrants.”
“Corrupt staff in financial institutions may enable money laundering by disregarding regulatory compliance”
The report also warned that corruption and migrant smuggling are often intertwined. In many cases, trafficked migrants rely on corrupt officials to obtain forged visas, travel documents, or residency permits.
“Corrupt staff in financial institutions may enable money laundering by disregarding regulatory compliance,” Europol said. “Criminal networks exploit corruption to secure protection from prosecution… and manipulate legal proceedings in their favour.”
Call for coordinated action
As organised crime becomes more entrenched in key sectors of European life, the agency called for stronger coordination through EMPACT and greater access to data for national authorities.
The 2025 EU-SOCTA warns that without urgent cooperation and enforcement, these criminal systems risk becoming deeply embedded within the everyday economic and political fabric of the European Union.