معرفی
Nikos Passas is a Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University's College of Social Sciences and Humanities, where he serves as Co-Director of the Institute for Security and Public Policy. He holds multiple international appointments including Co-Chair of the Steering Committee for the University of Geneva Anti-Corruption Academy (GENACA), Distinguished Visiting Professor at Beijing Normal University, Distinguished Lecturer in Financial Integrity at Case Western Reserve Law School, and Chair of the Academic Council of the Anti-Corruption Academy in India. His work bridges academic research and practical policy implementation across global institutions.
His educational background includes a PhD in Sociology of Deviance from the University of Edinburgh (1988), an LLB from the University of Athens, and a DEA from the University of Paris II. These foundations support his interdisciplinary approach to complex crime issues.
Passas specializes in corruption, illicit financial flows, terrorism financing, white-collar crime, and transnational organized crime. His research examines institutional corruption mechanisms, anti-corruption academic frameworks, trade-facilitated crime, and the intersection of debt crises with corruption—particularly in Greece. Current projects include NSF-funded research on Financial Network Disruptions in Illicit and Counterfeit Medicines Trade (FIND-M), analysis of serious crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic, and criminological theory development. His work consistently addresses the practical implementation challenges of global crime control frameworks.
Analysis of his 230+ publications across 15 languages reveals an evolving focus from foundational criminological theory and organized crime structures toward contemporary financial crime systems and regulatory challenges. Early works established frameworks for understanding transnational crime economics, while recent scholarship targets terrorist financing mechanisms, identity-related cybercrime, and the operational realities of anti-corruption implementation. His publications consistently emphasize practical policy applications and cross-institutional coordination requirements.
- Dr. Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award (2017) from Tufts University’s Institute on Global Leadership
- INSPIRE Fellow at Tufts University Institute of Global Leadership
Passas has secured significant research funding including the NSF FIND-M planning grant and has consulted for major international bodies including UNODC (designing the UNCAC legal library and review mechanism software), OECD, IMF, World Bank, OSCE, European Union, and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). He regularly provides expert testimony in legal proceedings and develops specialized training for law enforcement, intelligence agencies, and financial institutions worldwide. His advisory roles span the Centre for Crime Justice and Policing at the University of Birmingham, Global Risk Profile in Geneva, and Compliance and Capacity Skills International in New York.
He leads Northeastern's Institute for Security and Public Policy while directing international initiatives including the University of Geneva Anti-Corruption Academy and India's Anti-Corruption Academy. His work with UNODC established critical infrastructure for global anti-corruption monitoring, and he currently chairs academic councils that coordinate anti-corruption research across multiple continents. These roles position him at the nexus of academic research, policy development, and operational crime prevention strategies.
