More resources needed to fight financial crime

LONDON – A generally positive picture on progress in tackling financial crime, especially in information sharing, emerged from a speech given on September 5 by Philip Robinson, sector leader, financial crime, at the Financial Services Authority (FSA). That said, he cautioned that the government has failed to prioritise the fight on financial crime, and said the consequent lack of resourcing in law enforcement mars the overall picture.

Speaking at the Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime, Robinson pointed to a number of welcome developments. The introduction of a single offence for fraud and the creation of a National Fraud Strategy will be useful, "relating to the use of law enforcement resources to address fraud issues", he said. Collaboration between the FSA and other agencies is already leading to positive results. For example, he noted that the FSA had recently joined the Concerted Inter-agency Criminal