daniel chigunwe
Crime Reporter
The world police body has launched the International Criminal Police Organisations (INTERPOL) Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre (IFCACC) to provide to its member states, including Zimbabwe, a coordinated global response against the exponential growth in transnational financial crime.
Fuelled by ever-increasing globalisation and digitalisation, criminals are able to commit financial crime with increasing efficiency and sophistication, undermining global financial systems, impeding economic growth and causing huge losses to businesses and individuals worldwide.
A 2020 survey by consulting firm PwC of businesses in 99 territories showed that nearly a half of all respondents had reportedly fallen victim to financial crime in the previous two years, with losses totalling US$42 billion. In terms of volume, fraud is now the most prevalent form of criminality in some countries.
Corruption likewise adds to the complexity of the crime landscape, creating a fertile ground for organised criminal activities. The two crime types are inextricably linked, with both often relying on similar mechanisms to move and launder illicit funds.
According to a recent INTERPOL assessment, member countries reported that financial crime and corruption were among the top three threats they currently face.
INTERPOL has 195 member countries, including Zimbabwe.
INTERPOL Secretary-General Dr Jürgen Stock said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the speed with which criminal groups can modify their methods to take advantage of new opportunities for defrauding individuals and companies, with millions of dollars stolen every day.
“INTERPOL’s new crime centre will expand and streamline the world police body’s existing initiatives in tackling financial crimes, illicit money flows and asset recovery by centralising the international response to transnational financial crime and corruption.”
Adopting a multi-agency approach, IFCACC will work closely with key stakeholders to strengthen collective efforts against financial crime and corruption.
These include the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the FATF-Style Regional Bodies (FSRBs), the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units, law enforcement agencies, police organisations and the financial sector.
By providing investigative, operational and analytical support, as well as capacity building, IFCACC will target fraud and payment crime, money laundering and asset recovery, and corruption.
The new centre will coordinate the organisation’s HAECHI operations, which target cyber-enabled financial crime. The previous two HAECHI operations brought together law enforcement in 20 countries, resulting in thousands of arrests and intercepting more than US$100 million in illicit funds.
Operation HAECHI-II saw INTERPOL officials pilot test a new global stop-payment mechanism, known as the Anti-Money Laundering Rapid Response Protocol (ARRP).
IFCACC will also lend its expertise to other INTERPOL projects covering crime areas with a corruption or financial crime component, such as human trafficking or environmental crime.
As the illegitimate use of virtual assets, particularly cryptocurrencies, has matured significantly in recent years and is now a widespread method to facilitate crime, IFCACC will also lead the Organisation’s efforts providing operational support against money laundering associated with virtual assets.
“Whether it’s corruption or financial crime, the criminal business model remains the same: bad actors, motivated by money and operating on a global level,” said Rory Corcoran, the acting director of IFCACC.
“Now, with this dedicated centre, we will be able to help police follow that money better than ever before, intercepting illicit funds before they disappear and arresting perpetrators, whether they’re hiding behind a screen or a public office.”
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