EU: More Suspect Transactions

Europol and national police forces in the EU’s 27 nations see following money trails as the most important tool in fighting serious organized crime and terrorist groups. Because most money laundering schemes have what Europol calls an “international dimension,” Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) provide a way for police to detect international links between transactions and people, and to identify organized crime networks.

“The international nature of the potential money laundering cases detected by relevant FIUs (financial intelligence units) is confirmed by the huge amount of STRs involving non-resident actors. This is particularly evident in countries like Luxembourg and Cyprus,” said Europol in a press release, without divulging its criteria for a suspicious transaction.

A recent Europol survey showed that reporting was up in 2007 from the year before, with 567,146 reports disclosed in 2006, and 602,450 disclosed in 2007.

Director: More Cooperation Would Help

Europol’s director said that more cooperation among financial police within the EU would only help.

“I am pleased to see progress and we can all learn from the best practices of proactive countries like Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom,” said Europol director Rob Wainwright. “However it is still important to improve the interoperability of the Financial Intelligence Units in the EU Member States. The lack of harmonized domestic regulations and structures often makes it difficult to fully embrace the potential offered by the intelligence received, particularly in the field of money laundering and terrorist financing.”

Europol this week also hosted a meeting with Interpol, the European Commission and police from seven EU member countries on how to police, coordinate and investigate sea piracy. Some 14 vessels are currently being held by Somali pirates; most of the vessels are owned by European companies.

--Beth Kampschror