The 2011 Malta International Financial Crime Forum gave a beacon of hope during a time of global economic crisis in corporate fraud. The forum examined new developments in financial crime and its prevention.
Some 60 foreign and local delegates heard how Malta is proposing to boldly introduce electronic verification of documents. Details were also given regarding some new cases of trade and investment fraud with an in-depth analysis of the negative and positive ways in which the Ponzi fraud phenomenon was handled. A detailed account was given of the way drug money laundering works in the U.S. and of the ways in which law enforcement can succeed in seizing its assets.
The forum moved on to examine the way in which criminals use offshore locations to launder their profits and how insider fraud can be detected using forensic accounting techniques. The delegates were also informed about how banks manage to keep regulators on track and details were also given regarding the potential problems that are faced when it comes to deciding whether to report suspicious transactions and when to do so. The forum also drew attention to the situation in Italy which does not have bank secrecy laws and also emphasised the significance of increased regulatory enforcement on financial institutions.
The Director ICC Commercial Crime Services and the Forum Chairman, Pottengal Mukundan, said that “it was an enlightening few days. The immediate feedback from delegates was very positive, and they welcomed our initiative. We had great support from the FIAU and MFSA and I believe this format is something that financial institutions and other similar authorities can benefit from.”
Pottengal Mukundan went on to say that, “these are interesting times and there is no doubt this is a difficult environment in which to conduct business. The FIB [Financial Investigation Bureau]is seeing an increase in many different types of financial fraud being reported all over the world, and the evidence suggests fraudsters are increasingly sharing information about their techniques and their victims. It’s clear that everyone invested in fraud detection, and prevention will need to do the same or be at a disadvantage. The Forum proved to be a useful tool to do this.”
