NCJ Number
210210
Date Published
March 2005
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This article overviews the current money laundering and drug-related crime problems in Estonia.
Abstract
Estonia regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, leaving the country with much work to do in terms of building legislative and criminal justice systems. However, Estonia has been striding toward meeting international conventions and directives of the European Union and has made progress in establishing a criminal adversarial procedure and increasing the competence of law enforcement authorities. Current trends in organized crime in Estonia are discussed, which include heavy ties to the former Soviet republics and a white-collar focus. Drug related crimes and their management by Estonia law enforcement is similarly reviewed; most of the problems revolve around the transit of heroin, hashish, ecstasy, and cocaine through the country. Multidisciplinary cooperation between law enforcement and other agencies such as the State Agency of Medicine and businesses selling chemicals has aided enormously in the fight against drugs. The criminalization of money laundering in Estonia is reviewed and aspects of related legislation are described, such as admissibility requirements for evidence and provisions for freezing assets, confiscation, seizure, and recovery of legal expenses. Finally, the state of affairs and problems regarding international cooperation are discussed with a focus on mutual assistance and extradition.