This article presents the two phenomena of economic financial crime: corruption and the underground economy, which have managed to expend internationally. The current context has allowed the emergence and the development of this phenomena into the society, the public sector and the business environment that generates a decrease of investments, innovation and research at national, European level. In this article we have presented some elements of the literature review on corruption and on the underground economy, as well as the direct and strong connection between the two and the impact of corruption and the underground economy in the innovation and development of the business environment at the level of the European Union. The research methodology used in the elaboration of this article was the qualitative method.