A Perspective on International Organised and Economic Crime from Interpol
| Pages | 343-345 |
| Date | 01 February 1999 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb025904 |
| Published date | 01 February 1999 |
| Author | Raymond Kendall |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & finance |
Journal of Financial Crime — Vol. 6 No. 4 — Analysis
A Perspective on International Organised and
Economic Crime from Interpol
Raymond Kendall
It has been said many times that the criminal has no
boundaries, and that is true, more than ever before,
now that technology is opening up the world in a
manner that we could not have dreamed of 10 or
20 years ago.
We,
on the other hand, are restricted at every turn
we make. Apart from the obvious differences
between our nations such as language, we have differ-
ent judicial systems that have to be satisfied; we have
different laws that have to be carefully considered to
ensure that what constitutes a crime in one country is
also a crime in another; we have different procedures
and levels of authority for certain investigative tech-
niques; we are restricted by budgets which demand
that pressing local or national problems are given
priority, invariably at the expense of what might be
a lengthy, complicated and expensive international
investigation with no direct benefit to the originating
country; we are constantly reactive rather than pro-
active due to the sheer scale or volume of crimes
that are reported and require investigation. Conse-
quently, we are often one or more steps behind the
organised criminal.
THE ISSUES
By using the word 'organised' it might imply a refer-
ence to the Mafia or the triads or other well-known
organised crime gangs. It is not quite that simple.
Although organised crime is a massive problem,
there are many other criminals out there, particularly
in the field of economic crime, who do not work for
an organisation. But they are organised. It is difficult
to imagine attempting to commit a large-scale fraud
without being completely organised from top to
bottom. Everything has to be mapped out in
advanced, with a good deal of forward planning,
together with the creation of contingency plans and
fall-back schemes and, in the process, expending con-
siderable resources in order to deceive people into
parting with their money. Economic crime is rarely
opportunist, months or even years of preliminary
work and planning go into carrying out fraud
schemes. The time is spent probing for a weakness
or cultivating a cooperative employee. Arrangements
for the moving, disguising and laundering of the
projects must also be made in advance.
For every advance, technological or otherwise,
that is made in the world of commerce, the criminal
is close behind with plans to penetrate the system.
Not so long ago, digital mobile phones were the
death knell to criminal activity surrounding these
'desirable' pieces of technology. They could not be
re-chipped and they could not be monitored, but
that did not last long. Holograms were introduced
as a way to detect counterfeit credit cards — that
did not work either. At present, microchips are
being developed which when incorporated into
payment cards are supposed to achieve the same
result. This technology sounds promising, but a
way will doubtless be found by the criminal element
to counter it. In the 1980s, only 10 per cent of crim-
inals had any notion of electronics or computers.
Today this figure has increased to a staggering 90
per cent, according to the OECD.
Having painted such a gloomy picture, where does
that leave those of us who are tasked with stopping
the criminal? The raison d'être of Interpol is to pro-
mote and improve international police cooperation.
Interpol's initiatives and the work of the organisation
have been very successful and continue to be so in
many parts of the world. But there has to be a limit
to what law enforcement practitioners can do because
of the physical constraints imposed upon them. The
world is about to enter the 21st century with concerns
that were never even dreamed of 100 years ago. Do
our national processes of law and order enable us to
operate effectively internationally, particularly in
the age of 'high-tech' crime?
In the vast majority of countries, if cash is required
a credit card is inserted into an electronic cash dispen-
ser and local currency is available, all authorised by a
secret code known only to the cardholder and the
issuing company or bank. For the purposes of
business expediency the financial institutions have
broken down all international barriers and devised
common technological standards which enable the
use of machines at virtually any bank. And this is
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