**2. Statistics on economic and financial crimes**

#### **2.1 Top of frauds**

According to the study of PwC [16] conducted on 5,000 respondents around the world, the first category of frauds by types is represented by customer frauds (fraud to the clients), followed very closely by cybercrime, asset misappropriation, corruption and financial statement frauds. When it comes to the frequency of frauds by domains, according to a study conducted by ACFE [17] conducted on 2,504 cases of occupational frauds that were investigated between January 2018 and September 2019, the highest number of frauds occurs in banks and financial services (386 cases, losses' average 100.000\$), followed by government/public administration (195 cases, losses' average 100.000\$) and manufacturing (185 cases, losses' average 198.000\$). However, when it comes to the analysis of the value of losses caused by frauds, the same study establishes that the highest prejudices are found in mining (losses' average of 475.000\$ for a total of 26 cases), followed by real estate (losses' average of 254.000\$ for a total of 52 cases) and telecommunications (losses' average of 257.000\$ for a total of 67 cases) [17].

According to our own calculations, based on the data for crimes investigated by the Romanian Police for the 2011–2019 period, the highest losses by domains are found in banks and financial institutions, in real estate and the food industry (**Figure 1**).

Related to the frequency of frauds by types of entities, the most fraudulent companies are the private companies (44%) followed by public companies (26%) [17].

#### **2.2 Corruption**

Corruption, as another component of crimes, goes hand in hand with many types of frauds. To calculate corruption levels, we will use the data offered by Transparency International regarding the *Corruption Perception Index (CPI)*

*Economic and Financial Crimes and the Development of Society DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96269*

**Figure 1.**

*Top frauds by total losses (% in total losses), by domains in Romania. Source: Own calculations based on the data from the Romanian police for the 2011–2019 period.*

referring to perceived corruption. In our study, the level of corruption is calculated as the order position occupied by a certain country out of the total 180 countries taken into account within the sample: the higher the ranking, the higher the level of corruption, and the lower the ranking, the lower the level of corruption, respectively ([18], p.41). According to our calculations conducted over the 2005–2019 period (**Figure 2**), the Northern countries (Denmark, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands) are the least corrupt countries among European countries, while Central and Eastern European countries face the highest levels of corruption (Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Croatia).

Regarding the evolution of the level of corruption within European countries over the 2005–2019 period, we may note very small changes during this period (**Figure 3**). Thus, despite the efforts made by the organisations, corruption still remains a long standing problem among European countries.

#### **2.3 Shadow economy**

Shadow economy represents another component of economic and financial crime. The level of the shadow economy is expressed in percentages as the weight of the shadow economy within the GDP, as provided by the database calculated by Medina and Schneider [20]. According to our calculations conducted over the 2005–2017 time period, the average percentage of GDP lost in shadow, for the European Union countries, is 17% (**Figure 4**). However, there are high discrepancies among European Union member states. The highest values for the shadow economy are found in Central and Eastern European countries such as Croatia,

**Figure 2.**

*Corruption within European Union countries, in average for the period 2005–2019. Source: Own calculations based on the data of corruption perception index provided by transparency international [19].*

**Figure 3.**

*Evolution of corruption throughout the European Union countries, 2005–2019. Source: Own calculations based on the data of corruption perception index provided by transparency international [19].*

#### **Figure 4.**

*Shadow economy (% of GDP) in European Union countries, in average for the period 2005–2017. Source: Own calculations based on the data from Medina and Schneider [20].*

Romania and Bulgaria while the lowest levels of shadow economy are found in Austria, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Germany.

However, when we analyse the evolution of the shadow economy in European Union countries, we may note a decreasing trend year by year. For Romania also, the level of shadow economy has significantly decreased during the last 12 years. Thus, in 2005 the level of shadow economy was 31% while in 2017 it is 23%, thus it has reduced by about 8 percentage points (**Figure 5**).

#### **Figure 5.**

*Evolution of shadow economy (% of GDP) in European Union countries, 2005–2017. Source: Own calculations based on the data of Medina and Schneider [20].*

*Economic and Financial Crimes and the Development of Society DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96269*

## **2.4 Tax evasion**

According to the European Commission [21], the percentage of value added tax (VAT) revenues lost in the European Union in 2018, highly varies among the member states (**Figure 6**). The highest lost VAT revenues are found in Romania (34.3%), followed by Greece (30.1%) and Lithuania (25.9%). The lowest lost VAT revenues are found in Sweden with only 0.7%.

From **Figure 6** we may note that Romania registers the highest level of lost VAT revenues among the European Union member states. However, when it comes to the whole level of tax evasion, it registers a significant decrease in Romania throughout the 2009–2017 period, from 2.84% in GDP (2009) to 1.68% GDP (2017), according to the data provided by the National Institute of Statistics in Romania (**Figure 7**).
