The learning curve

How do Police at the frontline interpret the suspicious transaction reports that money laundering reporting officers send through to the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) Economic Crime Branch? What do they look for and exactly how helpful to solving crime are the disclosures that firms make? These questions were explored during the Metropolitan Police Service Financial Intelligence Development Unit’s fifth annual feedback forum at New Scotland Yard last November.The event, sponsored by Carratu International, the investigations company, attracted more than a hundred money laundering specialists, from banks, financial advisers, casinos and bureaux de change, who came to learn from and share their experiences – ‘expectations, limitations and disappointments’ – with the Metropolitan Police officers who receive and handle 25% of the STRs filed in England and Wales. Timon Molloy reports on the highly instructive proceedings.

The MPS Financial Intelligence Development Unit

Introducing the feedback forum, Detective Chief Superintendent James Perry, OCU (Operational Command Unit) Commander of SO6, the specialist crime section at New Scotland Yard, observed that the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 signals serious intent on the part of the Government to tackle organised crime through its financing.