Financial Investigation and Financial Intelligence: A Critical Analysis

This book offers the first substantive analysis of the history and development of financial investigation in the UK alongside selected international influences. UK Government policy makes clear the intent for crime reduction with financial investigation available to generalist investigations at all levels as well as the specialist area of asset recovery (confiscation). The literature consistently portrays financial investigation as a synonym for asset recovery (confiscation) despite the poor outcomes of this narrow approach. The lack of funding and training for law enforcement generalists deters use in routine enquiries, which undermines the assumption that specialist asset recovery (confiscation) will take the profit out of crime. The UK approach is consistent with the context of international influences, neither of which articulate how to implement general use of financial investigation and instead focus on specialist asset recovery (confiscation). It does not appear that general law enforcement routinely use financial footprint information such as suspicious activity reports (SARs), and the extent of integration with the UK National Intelligence Model (NIM) is unclear. Financial investigation is not used routinely in digital investigations, and both fields are perceived as specialist which inhibits use in general law enforcement enquiries and integration with the NIM.