News Article - 10 March 2008
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Forensic accounting practices have a key role to play in tackling the growth in international organised crime.

An article in the Scotsman claims that police across the UK are fighting global criminal organisations with a reach far beyond the UK and foreign nationals at their helm.

By modelling their operations on "legitimate multinational companies", the report suggests that combining surveillance with forensic accountancy to spot money laundering offers the best chance of beating the gangs.

The government is investing in expertise such as forensic accountancy in the hope that it "will make it increasingly difficult for organised criminals to hide their money in legitimate businesses".

With an estimated 400 organised crime bosses in the UK, holding wealth totaling £440 million, it is vital that accounting systems are developed to track their assets and operations.

Gordon Meldrum, director general of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA), said: "There are a number of specialities that facilitate the crime groups…experts in transport, legal and legislative systems. The commodity could be heroin, people, firearms, money, drugs. They're interested in power and profit."

As much as half of the £18 billion worth of assets derived from crime in the UK each year is believed to come from illegal drugs, creating billions of pounds worth of social and economic costs.

A new report by the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) indicates that mortgage fraud in the UK soared last year to £700 million, as a result of organised crime gangs targeting mortgage providers.

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