Costantino Grasso
Reader in Business and Law
My profile
Biography
What I teach
- Criminal Law
- Corporate and Economic Crime
- Corporate Governance
- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Company Law
Consultancy and advisory roles
He has served as a consultant, advisor, and lecturer on topics related to those matters for the European Union and Council of Europe as well as national governments, academic institutions and firms in Europe and North America. As of June 2018, he has been appointed as an international expert in the area of corruption and good governance by the Council of Europe - Directorate General Human Rights and Rule of Law - Economic Crime and Cooperation Division. In this capacity, he has already participated in several international missions liaising with judges, prosecutors, investigators and government representatives of various countries (e.g., Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Montenegro).
In 2020 he has been appointed as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) international expert within the project “Modern Parliament for a Modern Armenia.” In this capacity, he has actively contributed to the debate on how to better protect witnesses and whistleblowers, who are involved in parliamentary proceedings. In order to achieve such an objective, he carried out comparative legal research focused on the analysis of relevant pieces of legislation and other regulatory instruments related to several countries. In particular, I had the chance to explore the rules governing the way in which individuals give written or oral evidence the analysis focused both on countries that share similarities with the Republic of Armenia (i.e., Georgia, Moldova, and Albania) and on jurisdictions characterized by a long-established tradition of congressional investigations (i.e., the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Italy).
Practitioner roles
Dr. Costantino Grasso qualified as a lawyer in Italy (Bar Association of Naples) in 2004 and as as a solicitor in England and Wales in 2011. Being qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales and as a lawyer in Italy, he has always combined academic activities with legal practice. In 2014, he worked as a corporate governance and compliance specialist for the Serious Fraud Office participating in the first-ever U.K. Deferred Prosecution Agreement between that prosecuting body and ICBC Standard Bank Plc, which concerned a complex case of transnational bribery. On that occasion, he received an award for the substantial input into the success of the agreement and, on 23 November 2016, he was awarded as a member of the case team the UK Government Legal Department’s Prosecutor of the Year Award. Although he did not accept the role due to the impracticality of serving judicial functions abroad, on 19 July 2017 he was appointed by the Italian Ministry of Justice as an honorary judge at the Court of Turin.
Impact
On the 19th of January 2021, his submission of written evidence to the House of Commons Treasury Committee in the area of economic crime was accepted and published on the website of the UK Parliament. In the submission, I offered recommendations on how to enhance the UK’s anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions regime. The full submission of written evidence is available here: https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/17591/pdf/
Projects
Dr. Costantino Grasso is the Principal Investigator of VIRTEU (Vat fraud: Interdisciplinary Research on Tax Crimes in the European Union, Grant Agreement no: 878619) is a high-profile legal research project funded by the European Commission under the HERCULE III program. VIRTEU aims at exploring the interconnections between tax crimes and corruption, thereby identifying the intimate relationships between fraudulent and corrupt practices in the area of taxation. The project brings together leading academics and experts in producing theoretical and empirical research to support scientific findings and policy recommendations.
Dr Costantino Grasso is the Funder and Editor-in-Chief of the Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics Blog, which is an international scientific platform intended to provide a forum for exchanging information and ideas across disciplinary and professional boundaries, and to foster rigorous, vigorous, and constructive debate about corporate irresponsible behaviour causes, consequences, and potential remedies.
Research outputs
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Books (authored/edited/special issues)
Manacorda, S., Grasso, C. (2018) Fighting fraud and corruption at the world bank: A critical analysis of the sanctions system.
Leal-Arcas, R., Grasso, C., Ríos, J.A. (2016) Energy security, trade and the EU: Regional and international perspectives.
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Chapters in books
Turksen, U., Abukari, A., Rasmouki, F., Kreissl, R., Bourton, S., Luecke, H., Lui, A., Mahuta, H.A., Öner, S., Grasso, C., MacLennan, S., Pasculli, L. (2023) 'Tax Crimes and Illicit Money Flows in the EUs: Comparison and Key Findings.' Tax Crimes and Enforcement in the European Union: Solutions for Law, Policy, and Practice. pp. 14-66.
Grasso, C. (2020) 'A phenomenon-focused examination of corruption in the World Bank-financed development projects.' Corruption in the Global Era: Causes, Sources and Forms of Manifestation. Routledge, pp. 258`-276.
Grasso, C. (2020) 'The Troubled Path Towards Greater Transparency as a Means to Foster Good Corporate Governance and Fight Against Corruption in the Energy Sector.' Handbook Of Energy Finance: Theories, Practices And Simulations. World Scientific, pp. 363-393.
Grasso, C. (2020) 'The troubled path toward greater transparency as a means to foster good corporate governance and fight against corruption in the energy sector.' Handbook of Energy Finance: Theories, Practices and Simulations. pp. 363-393.
Grasso, C. (2019) 'Corruption in World Bank-financed development projects: A phenomenon-focused examination.' Corruption in the Global Era: Causes, Sources and Forms of Manifestation. pp. 258-276.
Grasso, C., Alvarez, G. (2018) 'Article 25 Economic Integration Agreements.' In Leal-Arcas, R. (ed.) Commentary on the Energy Charter Treaty. Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 330-336.
Grasso, C., Hunter, T. (2018) 'Article 22 State and privileged enterprises.' In Leal-Arcas, R. (ed.) Commentary on the Energy Charter Treaty. Edward Elgar, pp. 299-313.
Grasso, C. (2018) 'Article 23 Observance by sub-national authorities.' In Leal-Arcasq, R. (ed.) Commentary on the Energy Charter Treaty. pp. 314-319.
Grasso, C., Alvarez, G. (2018) 'Article 24 Exceptions.' In Leal-Arcas, R. (ed.) Commentary on the Energy Charter Treaty. Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 320-329.
Grasso, C. (2017) 'The Dark Side of Power: Corruption and Bribery within the Energy Sector.' In Leal-Arcas, R., Wouters, J. (ed.) Research Handbook on EU Energy Law and Policy. Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 237-256.
Grasso, C., Leal-Arcas, R. (2016) 'The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, Energy and Divestment.' The Palgrave Handbook of the International Political Economy of Energy. pp. 205-224.
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Reports
Grasso, C., Holden, S. Expert Survey Report: The Interconnections between Tax Crime and Corruption. Corporate Crime Observatory.
Grasso, C., Holden, S. Countering Tax Crimes and Corruption: Recommendations for Law Enforcement Officials. Corporate Crime Observatory.
Grasso, C., Hoppe, T., Polaine, M., Rupchev, G., Livschitz, M. Liability of Legal Persons for Corruption Offences. Council of Europe.
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Journal articles
Grasso, C. (2023) 'Book Review: Incentivizing injustice: The 2008 financial crisis and prosecutorial indiscretion by Krieger, S..' Criminal Justice Review,
Grasso, C. (2023) 'Book Review: Cyber mercenaries: The state, hackers, and power.' Criminal Justice Review, 48(3) pp. 409-411.
Grasso, C. (2023) 'The Dark Side of Power: Corruption and Bribery Within the Energy Industry.' SSRN Electronic Journal,
Grasso, C., Ring, D. (2022) 'Beyond bribery: exploring the intimate interconnections between corruption and tax crimes.' Law and Contemporary Problems, 85(4)
Grasso, C., Ring, D. (2022) 'Foreword: Tax evasion, corruption and the distortion of justice.' Law and Contemporary Problems, 85(4) pp. i-viii.
Grasso, C. (2016) 'Peaks and Troughs of the English Deferred Prosecution Agreement: The Lesson Learned from the DPA between the SFO and ICBC SB Plc.' Journal of Business Law, (5) pp. 388-408.
Leal-Arcas, R., Ríos, J.A., Grasso, C. (2015) 'The European Union and its energy security challenges.' Journal of World Energy Law and Business, 8(4) pp. 291-336.
Leal-Arcas, R., Alemany Ríos, J., Grasso, C. (2015) 'The European Union and its energy security challenges: engagement through and with networks.' Contemporary Politics, 21(3) pp. 273-293.
Leal-Arcas, R., Grasso, C., Alemany Ríos, J. (2015) 'Multilateral, regional and bilateral energy trade governance.' Journal of Renewable Energy Law, 6(1) pp. 38-87.
Grasso, C. (2013) 'The European Arrest Warrant under the Scrutiny of the Italian Constitutional Court.' New Journal of European Criminal Law, 4(1-2) pp. 120-133.
Grasso, C. (2013) 'The European Arrest Warrant under the Scrutiny of the Italian Constitutional Court.' New Journal of European Criminal Law, 4(1) pp. 120-133.
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Other
Grasso, C. (2024) The UNCAC Resolution on Reporting Persons: recognizing progress and discussing paths for enhancement.
Ring, D., Grasso, C., Pasculli, L. (2023) Tax Evasion, Corruption and the Distortion of Justice.
Grasso, C. (2022) Corporate duty to creditors: the UK Supreme Court’s lost opportunity to adopt a more stakeholder-oriented perspective.
Grasso, C. (2020) Concerns regarding or improvement to the UK Anti-Money Laundering regime.
Press and media
Media Interview: ‘Debate on corporate corruption in the light of the 24-year sentence imposed to Park Guen-Hye in South Korea,’ TRT World International (2018)
(https://corporatesocialresponsibilityblog.com/2018/04/12/trt-corporate-…)
Media Interview: ‘Comments on corporate corruption in the wake of the Samsung’s heir release from prison,’ Al Jazeera International (2018)
(https://corporatesocialresponsibilityblog.com/2018/02/09/corporate-corr…)
Media Interview: ‘Treasury targets Bitcon criminals,’ The Daily Telegraph (2017)
(www.pressreader.com/uk/the-daily-telegraph/20171204/282510068893336)
Media Interview: ‘The Spyware Paradox in the Fight against Corruption,’ Radio Sputnik UK (2017)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pli0FTCK4TY&feature=youtu.be)
Media Interview: ‘Italian prosecutors seek criminal case in oil giants’ deal in Nigeria,’ Marketplace, American Public Media, in association with the University of Southern California, (2017)(http://www.marketplace.org/2017/02/09/world/italian-oil-company-eni-and…)