Concluding reflections: towards a new strategy for anti‐fraud cooperation. Notes on the EU panel of the British Society of Criminology Conference, 2009
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/13590791011009437 |
| Pages | 163-167 |
| Date | 05 January 2010 |
| Published date | 05 January 2010 |
| Author | Tricia Howse |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & finance |
SECTION III. RE-EVALUATING THREATS
AND RESPONSES
Concluding reflections: towards
a new strategy for anti-fraud
cooperation
Notes on the EU panel of the British Society
of Criminology Conference, 2009
Tricia Howse
UK Association to Combat Fraud in Europe, Southsea,UK
Abstract
Purpose – This paper seeks to examine the prevalence of fraud in the EU, the weaknesses of the
current system in combating it, and to suggest recommendations for a more effective effort in this
respect.
Design/methodology/approach – The recent (post-won) history of European fraud is chronicled
and the observations of authors in this issue ( JFC, Vol. 17 No. 1) are noted.
Findings – EU fraud has so far received low priority in the law enforcement’s hierarchy of
prosecutable offences. However, it is possible, even of this late juncture, to co-ordinate efforts
effectively to pursue, detect, try, convict and punish offenders.
Originality/value – The paper, at last, makes concrete suggestions for combating EU fraud –
a move long-awaited and sorely needed.
Keywords Fraud, EuropeanUnion, Law enforcement
Paper type General review
Fraud comes in many forms. It sneaks in “below the radar” in countless ways that are
neither picked up by the police, nor cared about by the public or the press.
For example, “smurfing” involves rings of family or friends using free ferry
vouchers to enjoy a good day out and to return with a “reasonable” amount of tobacco
(paid for by the organiser, who sells at a profit). In my early days as a customs
prosecutor in the 1980s, kind souls in East Anglia gave free trips to Holland and
Belgium to parties of OAPs who brought back large quantities of ha nd-rolling tobacco
in their capacious handbags (or stuffed down their tights, in one glorious incident which
did make the local press). Ripping off the revenue was always – and remains – an
enjoyable sport in the Robin Hood tradition. As Professor Tupman remarked (2009), the
cost of countermeasures always seems excessive, unless you count the hidden costs to
political credibility, law enforcement reputation and the economy of the drip losse s of
low value, high volume petty fraud. Tupman urges that small scale fraud should not be
disregarded – it is part of a continuum that stretches from simple waste to organised
crime. Bill Tupman’s paper homes in on the petty VAT and Excise evasion that is
practised daily, yet costs the EU dear.
Concluding
reflections
163
Journal of Financial Crime
Vol. 17 No. 1, 2010
pp. 163-167
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
1359-0790
DOI 10.1108/13590791011009437
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