Editorial
| Pages | 2-4 |
| Date | 07 January 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-09-2018-0103 |
| Published date | 07 January 2019 |
| Author | Barry Rider |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & Finance,Financial risk/company failure,Financial crime |
Editorial
Unexplained wealth
The Cambridge Symposium on economic crime, now in its 36th successive year, has
established itself as perhaps the leading international non-governmental forum for the
analysis and discussion of issues related, in the broadest sense, to the prevention,
interdiction and management of economically motivated crime and misconduct. It was
originally conceived as a vehicle for bringing together those with an interest in the
protection of their economies and economic actors from the threats of economic crime.
Countries whether developed,developing or in transition all experience the consequences of
economically motivated misconduct, albeit manifesting in rather different ways. While
business vehicles have always been susceptible to misuse in the furtherance of fraud and
other forms of misconduct, with the emphasis that is now placed on attacking the value
incentive of acquisitive crime, through laws seeking to deprive criminals of their ill-gotten
advantages, the risk to the financial and business sectors –in being inveigled willingly or
otherwise into the reach of the criminal law, is so much greater. Indeed, as traditional law
enforcement agencies and prosecutors have come to terms with the profound difficulties
confronting them in securing convictions and have increasingly explored other avenues –
such as intelligence led disruption and the utilisation of weapons across the legal and
regulatory spectra, the risks for those who manage and invest in business become all the
more acute and unpredictable. Indeed, purely in terms of legal consequence the threat of
swinging financial penaltiesimposed on a financial intermediary for a failure of compliance,
are likely to be far more real in most societiesthan bringing as Lord Justice Roskill once put
it, “the perpetrators of seriousfraud expeditiously and effectively to book!”In the result –in
the world of today, whether we volunteer, we are all in some measure bound into the fight
against economicallyrelevant misconduct. Indeed, we all have a stake in the outcome.
Consequently, in recent years, the symposium has attracted participation from not only
those involved in more traditional law enforcement, but politicians, judges, diplomats,
regulators, officialsin intelligence and security organisations, academics and those involved
in business, particularly compliance, and those who advise them. The annual symposium
has traditionally been hosted by Jesus College within the University of Cambridge, but is
supported by a large number of academic, research and professional organisations
throughout the world. It also enjoys the supportof a number of key UK agencies such as the
Serious Fraud Office, Crown Prosecution Service, National Crime Agency, Metropolitan
Police and City of London Police. The blend of institutionsand bodies that come together in
this manner is unique and provides a platform that is sufficiently multi-disciplinary to
properly address –at many levels the risks that face our economies and in particular
financial institutions.
While the symposium attracted this year almost 2,000 participants from over 100
countries as it is organised on a non-profit making basis with only a proportion of paying
delegates it is dependent on the generosity of sponsors. Indeed, notwithstanding the high
level of interest in the financial institutions and within the compliance industry, it is
surprising how unwilling these institutions are in practice to cover even the direct costs of
those they send to Cambridge.This year, as in previous years –not withstanding all the well
know banks and other financial institutions vying to present and exhibit their expertise,
there were more registered paying delegates from Fiji than from the whole of the UK
financial sector! It is difficult to reconcile this in the minds of many with the rhetoric from
JFC
26,1
2
Journalof Financial Crime
Vol.26 No. 1, 2019
pp. 2-4
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1359-0790
DOI 10.1108/JFC-09-2018-0103
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