Datacros III Project

How can data, risk-based tools and advanced due-diligence practices help prevent criminal infiltration in public contracts and local authorisations?   Here’s a first round of speakers who will guide us through the #DATACROS III training “𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁” (14 November, online) ⤵️   🗣️ Michael Victor Lo Giudice (Transcrime) Introducing DATACROS III and its latest AI-driven features to enhance automated detection of anomalies in ownership structures, including new indicators and datasets tailored to the public procurement domain. 🗣️ Nicola Capello (RE-ACT) Outlining a practical step-by-step roadmap for organisational risk analysis: from process mapping to threat classification and mitigation. A grounded methodology to support stronger organisational risk management. 🗣️ Bruno González Valdelièvre (Oficina Antifrau de Catalunya) Presenting AFOC’s data-driven intelligence strategy, using open data and automated warning systems to detect procurement irregularities, fraud and corruption. Focus on key datasets, red-flag models and lessons from operational investigations. 🗣️ Bence Toth (Government Transparency Institute) Explaining how contract-level procurement data can reveal corruption patterns – including unrealistically short bidding windows, fast award decisions, overuse of closed procedures or recurring winners from the same buyer. An overview of how big data on public tenders helps prioritise investigations into systemic risks and local red flags.   ⌛ Stay tuned for the next group of speakers – and don’t forget to register by 11 November! Event page and agenda in the comments 👇

Manual reports and static red flags struggle to keep pace with evolving cartel strategies in public procurement. But #machinelearning offers a way forward, combining large numbers of weak signals to uncover novel collusion patterns, adapting to strategy shifts. The Government Transparency Institute, DATACROS III partner, explores this in a new blogpost. They applied ML to procurement data (2004–2021) from 7 EU countries to design a generalisable detection model and extend the #DATACROS tool’s AI capabilities in the procurement domain. Key insights: ▪️ Steps in the development of a cross-country, cross-market generalisable model. ▪️ Contract- and company-level indicators, such as bid counts, pricing, consortium participation, subcontracting, deviations from Benford’s Law. ▪️ Accuracy up to ~95% on prosecuted cartel cases, increasing as more countries are included. ▪️ Application to 3.3M contracts to identify high-risk suppliers and sectors. ▪️ Large-scale risk estimation becomes feasible even with imperfect data. 📘 Full blogpost: https://lnkd.in/dtN2XVec 🛡️ How to strengthen the first line of defence of public investments — local and contracting bodies — in detecting collusion? Register for our training 👇 https://lnkd.in/dEpb2-ZV

🛡️ Strengthening the frontline against organised crime, corruption, and fraud starts at the local level: city councils, regional governments, contracting authorities and bodies engaged in procurement and compliance. At the first DATACROS III training, "𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁", experts from research, law enforcement, and oversight authorities will unpack risks, best practices, and solutions 👇 🔻 Michael Victor Lo Giudice (Transcrime) 🔻 Nicola Capello and Lorenzo Segato (RE-ACT) 🔻 Bruno González Valdelièvre (Oficina Antifrau de Catalunya) 🔻 laura valli (ANAC – Autorità Nazionale Anticorruzione) 🔻 Bence Toth (Government Transparency Institute) 🔻 Emanuele Cardia (Guardia di Finanza) 🔻 Antonio Bosisio (Crime&tech srl) 🔻 Loredana Mitroi and Alis Scutaru-Șandru (National Agency for the Management of Seized Assets (ANABI)) 🗓 14 November 2025 | 10:30–16:30 CET | Online 🔗 Register by 11 November: https://lnkd.in/dEpb2-ZV

🔹 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀: 86% of the most threatening criminal networks in Europe use legal business structures to infiltrate the economy (Europol, 2024). Transcrime’s research under project KLEPTOTRACE confirmed this scale across crime typologies. E.g.:   • 85.7% of #sanctions circumvention cases involve at least one corporate entity, avg. 7 entities per case (🔗 https://lnkd.in/dwV7H6Xf) • Up to 90% of high-level #corruption cases – avg. 6 entities per case (🔗 https://lnkd.in/dR8jStmK)   ⚙️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗔𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗦 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿: we are advancing our investigative tool with AI functions for improved mapping of complex corporate networks across crime typologies, minimised false positives and new datasets.   🔹 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀: EPPO’s last Annual Report shows the same trend in public fraud, with estimated losses to the EU budget of €24.8 billion – reflecting only the detected cases.   🧭 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗔𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗦 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿: our training “𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮-𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙪𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙪𝙙” (14 Nov) will equip the first line of defence with tools and actionable practices. 📣 Help us share this initiative with local authorities and contracting bodies engaged in procurement and compliance: https://lnkd.in/dEpb2-ZV

Legitimate companies can act as key players in a criminal ecosystem where financial crime is just the tip of the iceberg. This includes corruption, sanctions evasion, capture of public subsidies, rigged procurement, as well as trafficking routes for illicit goods. In Sofia, Transcrime demonstrated how #DATACROS III's technologies, applied to #environmentalcrime, identified hidden crime risks in the waste management sector. 👇

👇 Join us online for the 1st DATACROS III training: "𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗗𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗖𝗧 | How to early-detect organised crime infiltration, corruption and fraud: red-flags and best practices" 🔹 14 Nov 2025 🔹 10:30 - 16:30 CET 🔹 Online (Webex) #PublicProcurement, local authorisations, and service contracts are prime targets for organised crime, exploiting administrative gaps to gain long-term influence over key sectors. Our training will equip local public bodies with the knowledge and tools to detect risk signals and prevent criminal infiltration in the legal economy. Aimed at city councils, regional governments, contracting authorities, and European bodies involved in procurement or compliance, the session will cover: 🔻 Risk analysis & open data 🔻 Whistleblowing and safeguards in public procurement 🔻 Due diligence best practices and tools 🔻 Social re-use of confiscated assets Organised by RE-ACT and Transcrime-Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. 🔗 Free of charge participation. Registration required: https://lnkd.in/dqg5GiQN

Increasingly agile manoeuvres across financial domains and assets allow criminal networks to keep resources out of sight.   An example provided by Transcrime’s analyses under project KLEPTOTRACE: three out of four cases of evaded targeted sanctions (i.e. involving designated entities, not sectors) involved economic resources beyond monetary funds — most notably real estate (27.8% cases), vehicles, and vessels. (📄Full report: https://lnkd.in/dwV7H6Xf).   To keep investigative workflows aligned with criminal practice, we are upgrading the #DATACROS tool to move beyond disentangling corporate structures. Among the new modules 👇   🔹 Expanded data sources, e.g. real estate, vehicle, and vessel data integrated with corporate records to improve asset traceability, with a module developed by Crime&tech srl. 🔹 Image-based extraction. Automated analysis of street-view and satellite imagery to support asset tracing and detect anomalous offices inconsistent with company financials — often a marker of shell firms. Module developed by Centre for Research & Technology Hellas (CERTH).   🔗 See the full range of new DATACROS modules to enhance #financialcrime investigations in Europe: https://lnkd.in/d-E-enME

“𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝘆” is the theme of this year's INTERPOL New Technology Forum (Vienna, 23–24 September). Transcrime will join this debate which will span quantum computing, decentralised systems, encrypted communications, AI and advanced methods for large-scale data processing. Our Michele Riccardi will present the approach we are adopting in models and tools developed with multiple EU-funded projects: integrating heterogeneous datasets — e.g. business registries, cadastral records, satellite imagery — to extract anomaly indicators that guide and streamline investigative efforts across organised and financial crime domains. See this approach to business risk profiling in action. Visit: 🔸 Datacros III Project (financial crime) 👉 https://www.datacros3.com/ 🔸 #INVERT (labour exploitation) 👉 https://invert-project.eu/ 🔸 KLEPTOTRACE (sanctions evasion) 👉 https://lnkd.in/eds9rCXy 🔸 FALCON – Fighting Corruption and Organised Crime 👉 https://lnkd.in/ee4DhE8E #NTF2025 is organised by INTERPOL Innovation Centre with the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice and the Complexity Science Hub.

Are #cryptocurrencies and digital assets a ‘blind spot’ in the world of AML and compliance?   Cryptoassets challenge traditional enforcement via regulated intermediaries and due diligence - pseudonymous, borderless, and cross-protocol transactions blur the traceability of high-risk entities. A recent investigation by our partner Crystal Intelligence into Garantex shows the value of the crypto-focused analytical modules – part of what we are developing in #DATACROS – for compliance officers and LEAs to keep pace with financial criminals and organised crime.   Crystal’s blogpost examines recurring evasion mechanisms: 🔻 Non-compliant and unregulated exchanges 🔻 OTC brokers and P2P markets 🔻 Mixing services and privacy coins 🔻 Chain-hopping and cross-protocol transfers 🔻 Use of Decentralised Finance (DeFi) protocols 🔻 Rebranding and shell entity structures   Deploying effective responses to evolving illicit financial flows calls for specialised analytics and cross-sector coordination. Find out more about countermeasures on our website 👉 https://lnkd.in/dYftjscb

🎧 Ascolta su Spotify la recente inchiesta di IrpiMedia che, grazie ai nostri tool #DATACROS e #KLEPTOTRACE, ha tracciato oltre un milione di euro di fondi europei di cui hanno beneficiato aziende vinicole toscane legate a oligarchi russi sanzionati. Con un'intervista al nostro Michele Riccardi 👇 Scopri come è stato impiegato il nostro tool: https://lnkd.in/dqDFBsT5