The tens of thousands of reports of suspicious transactions that banks and accountants pass on to the investigative authorities via a special reporting system each year hardly lead to criminal cases, reports Faithful Monday. In recent years, the many reports led to criminal cases in just a few dozen cases.
Last year, the banks reported over 155,000 unusual transactions to the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Netherlands (FIU-the Netherlands). The government agency investigated the reports and classified approximately 39,000 transactions as “suspicious.” These transactions together accounted for a total value of more than 19 billion euros.
The many reports, however, barely led to a criminal investigation, says Faithful. Although the Public Prosecution Service does not track exactly how many of these reports have led to a criminal case, it is about “a few dozen in the past few years,” the OM spokesman told the newspaper.
‘Quality reports need to improve’
According to Brigitte Unger, Utrecht professor and authority in money laundering, the fact that the reports are relatively few criminal cases is due to the quality of the reports. The professor says that many of the reports from FIU need further investigation, she says Faithful.
This requires more ICT expertise from the government agency. This makes it possible to filter more effectively for suspicious patterns in the many reports. As long as the quality of the reports is not improved, the reporting system mainly serves as a “deterrent for criminals”, according to Unger.
Although relatively few criminal cases arise from the FIU reporting system, the information may be useful for future investigations, the OM spokesperson told the newspaper. Because the reports to FIU are kept in the system, it is possible for the authorities to investigate new suspicious reports in the future. “Even if something does not immediately lead to suspicion, at some point the information can help us further.”
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