Sharp increase in economic crimes investigated by police
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The number of economic crimes investigated by police in Finland grew considerably last year.
According to a fresh report on the state of economic crime, put out by VIRKE, a project for the development of cooperation among officials, the authorities also learned of increasingly serious economic crimes.
Already three out of four cases of tax crime involved aggravated fraud.
“The number of bankruptcies was 25 per cent higher than a year earlier”, says Janne Marttinen, the head of VIRKE. Marttinen sees this as the single greatest factor that has increased the number of cases under investigation.
“Receivers report suspected crimes by debtors, which has increased the number of open cases.”
Marttinen would like to see more efficient measures enacted to fight economic crime and the grey economy.
“The authority of officials demands occasional renewal. We need structural means to reduce the space allowing the grey economy to exist.”
“Currently, rules involving information sharing between the Financial Supervisory Authority and Finnish tax officials need to be updated. Existing regulations do not allow for sensible exchange of information.”
Taking the same view is police inspector Matti Rinne of the Police Administration.
From the point of view of the police, the most worrisome and problematic thing is that the number of cases under investigation last year grew by nearly 400", he says.
Rinne is worried about the backlog of cases. He mentions the rulings at the European Court for Human Rights, denouncing Finland for the slowness of court decisions.
“The processes are unreasonably long. The court system is too slow, because matters are handled there twice, first in district court and then at a court of appeals.”
Typically, the investigation of economic crime takes about a year, and the court process, from the pressing of charges to a final decision by the appeals court could easily take four years.
Rinne and Marttinen would like to restrict the right of appeal in such cases. They also would like to see judges specialised in economic crimes.
“In sports, football referees do not judge hockey matches. It is a different world”, says Rinne.
Rinne also criticises the Financial Supervisory Authority, which monitors the insurance and finance branch in Finland.
“I am very worried about what kind of an institution this Financial Supervisory Authority really is. It cannot be that not a single criminal complaint was made last year. It is quite impossible for no insider trading to have happened.”
“Apparently people there are afraid to take on the responsibility that a supervisory official has. The activity needs to be more bold. Are there perhaps feet that are so big that nobody wants to step on them?”
Rinne and Martikainen also call for tougher punishments in cases of economic crime.
The current maximum sentence is four years. In Sweden it is six years.
Marttinen says that raising the maximum to Sweden’s level would have a deterrent effect.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 2.3.2010 - TODAY |
 Sharp increase in economic crimes investigated by police |
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