Bribery, Corruption and Violence: How Organised Crime Syndicates are Stimulating Poverty in Romania

Coming out of decades of dictatorial rule, Romania is rife with political instability. Although it has been over 30 years since the removal of Nicolae Ceausescu, the nation is still struggling to find its footing.

Since assuming office in December 2014 President Klaus Iohannis has had 13 different Prime Ministers and corruption has wormed its way into every aspect of Romanian society.

This volatility has made it almost impossible for the nation to recover from the damaging economic policies of Ceausescu. As a result, over 1/3 of the Romanian population live below the UN “extreme poverty” line of €1.95 and 41.2% of the population have no access to running water.

Serious Organised Crime Coordinator for Central and Southern Europe Richard Calver spoke of how organised criminal syndicates capitalise on poverty.

“When political instability and grand corruption result in failing state services organised crime groups will establish illicit economies”.

These economies will undoubtedly target the poorest in society and exacerbate the issues they are facing by driving them towards crime and away from the possibility of support.

Richard elaborated on this describing how, “over time these established criminal dynamics can become culturally engrained in poorer communities, further isolating them from state protection and perpetuating an acceptance of exploitation”.

The venality in these communities also provides prime recruitment grounds for the syndicates that were responsible for the corruption in the first place.

In his book “Hello, Shadowlands” Patrick Winn explains how rampant corruption inevitably turns politicians into criminals and subsequently pushes people into a position where they have to become predator or prey.

If your government and law enforcement are in league with your persecutors finding your own foothold in the underworld can often seem like the only way to survive.

Unfortunately, criminality is not just prevalent amongst the residents of these poorer communities, corruption spreads through all levels of Romanian society.

The rich source of income that these impoverished communities provide for the crime syndicates leads them to fight hard to maintain this status-quo. The consequence of this being widespread bribery, corruption, violence and the plight of the Romanian people being overlooked by those in power.

According to a 2020 study by Statista, Romania scored a 44 on the corruption perception index, making it the second most corrupt nation in the European Union.

This creates a vicious cycle as the instability, poverty and organised crime all feed off each other and make it extremely difficult for the nation’s economic issues to be resolved.

Western nations have difficulties when providing aid. It is challenging for outsiders to appreciate these complexities and provide aid in an effective manner to a nation they don’t fully understand.

Richard speaks of the vital role understanding plays in solving these situations, stating, “when considering initiatives to tackle poverty, consideration must be given to understand the vested interests of criminal actors who profit from the suffering of others”.

With help from the EU and institutions like World Bank, the Romanian government is making important steps to reducing poverty and promoting development. Despite the immense difficulties facing the nation, if these policy makers can work to appreciate and understand the intricacies of the issues, change is possible.