{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,3]],"date-time":"2026-06-03T19:48:10Z","timestamp":1780516090384,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,4,11]],"date-time":"2022-04-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1649635200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,4,11]],"date-time":"2022-04-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1649635200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["EPJ Data Sci."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2022,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:p>Economic crimes such as money laundering, terrorism financing, tax evasion or corruption almost invariably involve the use of a corporate entity. Such entities are regularly incorporated and managed by corporate services providers (CSPs). Given this potential for enabling economic crime, the CSP industry in the Netherlands is heavily regulated and CSPs require a license to operate. Operating without a licence is illegal. In this paper, we estimate the size of the illegal CSP sector in the Netherlands. For this, we develop a classification method to detect potentially illegal CSPs based on their similarity with licensed CSPs. Similarity is computed based on their position within the network of directors, companies and addresses, and the characteristics of such entities. We manually annotate a sample of the potential illegal CSPs and estimate that illegal CSPs constitute 31\u201351% of the total number of CSPs and manage 19\u201327% of all companies managed by CSPs. Our analysis provides a tool to regulators to improve detection and prevention of economic crime, and can be extended to the estimation of other illegal activities.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1140\/epjds\/s13688-022-00334-w","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,4,11]],"date-time":"2022-04-11T11:06:34Z","timestamp":1649675194000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Uncovering the size of the illegal corporate service provider industry in the Netherlands: a network approach"],"prefix":"10.1140","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6119-1790","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Javier","family":"Garcia-Bernardo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Joost","family":"Witteman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marilou","family":"Vlaanderen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,4,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"334_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"OECD: Behind the Corporate Veil: Using Corporate Entities for Illicit Purposes. OECD. https:\/\/www.oecd-ilibrary.org\/finance-and-investment\/behind-the-corporate-veil_9789264195608-en Accessed 2021-11-29. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1787\/9789264195608-en","DOI":"10.1787\/9789264195608-en"},{"key":"334_CR2","unstructured":"FATF\u2014Egmont Group: Concealment of Beneficial Ownership. https:\/\/www.fatf-gafi.org\/media\/fatf\/documents\/reports\/FATF-Egmont-Concealment-beneficial-ownership.pdf Accessed 2021-11-29"},{"key":"334_CR3","unstructured":"{Commissie Doorstroomvennootschappen}: Op weg naar acceptabele doorstroom"},{"key":"334_CR4","unstructured":"De Groen WP: Role of advisors and intermediaries in the schemes revealed in the Panama Papers"},{"key":"334_CR5","unstructured":"Waterval D: Hoe de Witwasser Gepakt Wordt, Maar Tussenpersonen Vrijuit Gaan. Trouw. https:\/\/www.trouw.nl\/gs-b2e1f8a8 Accessed 2021-11-29"},{"key":"334_CR6","unstructured":"de Groot G, van der Boon V: \u2018Afrika\u2019s Rijkste Vrouw Verkreeg Belangen in Nederland Door Fraude en Corruptie\u2019. FD.nl. https:\/\/fd.nl\/ondernemen\/1389316\/afrika-s-rijkste-vrouw-verkreeg-belangen-in-nederland-door-fraude-en-corruptie Accessed 2021-11-29"},{"key":"334_CR7","unstructured":"de Groot G, Leupen J: Trustcowboys Zonder Vergunning Wijzen de Weg Naar Belastingparadijs. FD.nl. https:\/\/fd.nl\/bedrijfsleven\/1414902\/trustcowboys-zonder-vergunning-wijzen-de-weg-naar-belastingparadijs Accessed 2021-11-29"},{"key":"334_CR8","unstructured":"DNB: DNB Heeft in 2019 Een Aanwijzing Aan ITPS (Netherlands) B.V. Gegeven. https:\/\/www.dnb.nl\/actueel\/nieuws-toezicht\/boetes-2021\/dnb-heeft-in-2019-een-aanwijzing-aan-itps-netherlands-b-v-gegeven\/ Accessed 2021-11-29"},{"key":"334_CR9","unstructured":"DNB: DNB Geeft Aanwijzing Aan Align B.V. en Anchor Management B.V. https:\/\/www.dnb.nl\/actueel\/nieuws-toezicht\/boetes-2021\/dnb-geeft-aanwijzing-aan-align-b-v-en-anchor-management-b-v\/ Accessed 2021-11-29"},{"key":"334_CR10","unstructured":"DNB: What Are Trust Services? https:\/\/www.dnb.nl\/en\/sector-information\/supervision-sectors\/trust-offices\/trust-offices-market-access-overview\/what-are-trust-services\/ Accessed 2021-10-29"},{"key":"334_CR11","unstructured":"Logger B, Weijnen P: In de Nederlandse Flexkantoren Bloeit Een Ondergrondse Trustsector. De Groene Amsterdammer. https:\/\/www.groene.nl\/artikel\/witwassen-in-een-flexkantoor Accessed 2021-10-25"},{"key":"334_CR12","unstructured":"UNCTAD: World Investment Report 2020: International Production Beyond The Pandemic. United Nations. https:\/\/unctad.org\/system\/files\/official-document\/wir2020_en.pdf Accessed 2021-11-30"},{"key":"334_CR13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Garcia-Bernardo J, Fichtner J, Takes FW, Heemskerk EM: Uncovering offshore financial centers: Conduits and sinks in the global corporate ownership network. Scientific Reports 7(1). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41598-017-06322-9","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-017-06322-9"},{"key":"334_CR14","unstructured":"DNB: Register of Trust Offices. https:\/\/www.dnb.nl\/en\/public-register\/register-of-trust-offices\/ Accessed 2021-11-30"},{"key":"334_CR15","unstructured":"Overview | Geocoding API. Google Developers. https:\/\/developers.google.com\/maps\/documentation\/geocoding\/overview Accessed 2021-10-29"},{"key":"334_CR16","unstructured":"ICIJ: How to Download This Database | ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database. https:\/\/offshoreleaks.icij.org\/pages\/database Accessed 2021-11-30"},{"issue":"11","key":"334_CR17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"4117","DOI":"10.1093\/rfs\/hhz017","volume":"32","author":"J O\u2019Donovan","year":"2019","unstructured":"O\u2019Donovan J, Wagner HF, Zeume S (2019) The value of offshore secrets: evidence from the Panama papers. Rev Financ Stud 32(11):4117\u20134155. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/rfs\/hhz017","journal-title":"Rev Financ Stud"},{"issue":"3","key":"334_CR18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"251","DOI":"10.1016\/0378-8733(91)90008-H","volume":"13","author":"MK Sparrow","year":"1991","unstructured":"Sparrow MK (1991) The application of network analysis to criminal intelligence: an assessment of the prospects. 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