A key feature of the study lies in its empirical foundation: unlike most analytical reports based on open-source data or interviews with law enforcement officials, this report draws on direct testimony from participants in criminal networks, obtained through the infiltration of researchers into transnational criminal structures.

The report synthesises data from more than a decade of field operations across Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and Europe, and includes dozens of case studies capturing corruption practices “from within” – from negotiations over bribes to interactions with public officials and intermediaries.

According to the authors, corruption is not merely a facilitating factor but a core mechanism underpinning environmental crime. It protects criminal networks, supports their expansion, and enables them to adapt to increased enforcement, including through flexible pricing of bribes and assessments of officials’ vulnerabilities.

The report further emphasises that the existence of formal anti-corruption frameworks does not guarantee their effectiveness: in a number of countries, oversight institutions themselves are affected by corruption, leading to a loss of trust, reduced enforcement outcomes, and the practical dysfunction of the rule of law.

It is also noted that corruption is transnational in nature and manifests itself in both developing and developed countries, amplifying the scale of environmental crime and acting as a “multiplier” of its impacts.

Among the key conclusions, the report highlights that long-term undercover investigations and the collection of intelligence from within criminal networks remain the most effective tools for identifying corruption schemes, as they enable the detection of actual operating mechanisms and the actors involved.