Belgian Magistrates Slam Lack of Resources in Fighting Financial Crimes
A New Book Highlights the Country’s Inability to Combat Financial Crimes Effectively
A group of Belgian magistrates has released a book that exposes the country’s inability to combat financial crimes effectively due to a lack of manpower and resources. The book, titled “Financieel Rechereren” (Financial Investigations), argues that the belief that crime should not pay is in stark contrast to the low priority given to combating financial crimes.
Financial Crimes Are Not Limited to Fraud and Embezzlement
The authors of the book, including investigating magistrate Theo Byl, point out that while financial crimes are often thought of as limited to fraud and embezzlement, all forms of serious crime have a financial or economic motive at their heart. This includes:
- Drugs trafficking
- Human trafficking
- Cybercrime
- Prostitution
Money is often the driving force behind criminal activity, making it essential to have adequate resources and expertise to investigate these crimes.
Insufficient Resources for Financial Investigations
Despite the importance of financial investigations in tackling these crimes, police and justice services are woefully under- equipped. For example:
- A major fraud investigation requires dozens of investigators with expertise in tracing money trails.
- However, such resources are simply not available.
The book criticizes the government’s failure to implement an integrated financial investigation policy and instead calls for a systematic pairing of financial investigations with every serious criminal case.
Success of Integrated Financial Investigation Policy
The iCOV model in the Netherlands is highlighted as a success story. This model brings together:
- Police
- Customs
- Tax inspectors
- Anti-money laundering units
- Prosecutors
to tackle financial crimes. In contrast, Belgium lacks such cooperation, leaving law enforcement agencies struggling to keep pace with sophisticated criminals who often use complex money-laundering schemes to evade detection.
Urgent Need for Action
The book concludes by urging the government to take action to address this shortfall in resources and expertise. Failure to do so will allow crime to continue to thrive. The magistrates are calling for a more effective and integrated approach to combating financial crimes, one that prioritizes the use of financial investigations in tackling serious criminal cases.