The Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), are located in what EUROPOL maps out as the North-East Criminal Hub. Given their geographical location on the EU’s most Eastern borders, the Baltic States facilitate not only the illegal entry and distribution of goods and people within the EU, but also the making of financial crime committed through the region’s financial institutions. As the European Union expands eastwards, the exposure to organized and transnational crime increases for the European Union as a whole, the importance of cross-border frameworks and agreements becomes self-evident. The Baltic States have, like the other new member states, implemented the third EU AML Directive and beyond this they have engaged in regional activities within the Baltic Sea region with the aim of developing effective measures and networks with which they can rise to the challenge faced by the region as a whole. The research results presented in this article have highlighted that although the Baltic States are often grouped together when discussing the region, it is important to look at each country individually, in particular in terms of its organized crime structures and their exposure to criminal activity. This article was first published in the September-November Vol. 8 No. 4 edition of ACAMS Today, a publication of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) copyright 2009 (www.acams.org). Originally published 16/11/2009.

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