THE INFAMOUS TETRAHEDRON: ORGANIZED CRIME, TERRORISM AND FRAUD.

This paper has the purpose to highlight that organized crime, terrorism and fraud do not always operate distinctly from each other, and sometimes are in a strong relationship, rely on each other, and use the same methods and mechanisms to reach their goals and purposes. The methodology used for this paper is made of scholarly articles and articles relevant for the current topic, retrieved from the web as sources of information. Over time, terrorist organizations have been using fraud schemes to increase their incomes and financial power, in order to put in action their plans, ideology and political strategies. At the same time, organized crime started using terrorist methods of violence, attack and disturbance in order to intimidate and constrain governing bodies and law enforcement institutions. In the recent years, there can rarely be made a clear distinction between organized crime, terrorism and fraud, as they seem to be the faces of the same infamous tetrahedron. Fraud must be treated as the essence of terrorist activities, as it is the main force to make possible terrorist actions, which lately require more and more financial support as they tend to be more and more elaborated. Understanding the tetrahedron can open more ways of action that a state can adopt, when fighting against the dynamic risks of international organized crime, terrorism and fraud. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]