The topic of international commercial crime is a sensational one. Although it would be wrong to trivialize the subject by overdramatising it, the present author is firmly of the opinion that the existence of significant and sophisticated organized crime operations, involving inter alia economic crime, is one of the most serious problems that countries, both developed and developing, face today. The present devastation of the social, political and economic fabric of the developing world through, among other things, the phenomenon of international economic crime is hardly perceived, let alone acknowledged. It is the present author’s belief that there is compelling evidence that some national economies, primarily in the third world, are coming under such an attack from organized crime groups and those engaged in economic crime that their political institutions have been significantly weakened and corrupted. It is not without significance that the responsible institutions of regional and international co-operation have recognized this danger and called for urgent action. This very subject has been raised and debated in depth at the last three Commonwealth Law Ministers’ meetings and, subsequent to each discussion, the Ministers of Justice and Attorneys-General of almost a third of the world’s population have called for direct action as a matter of priority1.

In Great Britain, in recent years, we have increasingly recognized that our existing procedures for the detection, investigation and prosecution of serious commercial crime are less than adequate. There have been institutional changes, such as the development in the United Kingdom of the Fraud Investigation Group and the limited reorganization of the Director of Public Prosecutions Department2. There have been statutory amendments and new guidelines for investigators and prosecutors3. There have also been committees and reappraisals4. Although, no doubt, all this discussion is to be welcomed, there are few signs of anything positive having been achieved. This