Dutch financial crime agency joins NCA hosted anti-corruption centre
The Dutch financial crime agency Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) has joined the International Anti-Corruption Crime Centre (IACCC).
Hosted within the National Crime Agency (NCA) in London, the IACCC brings together specialist law enforcement officers from multiple agencies around the world to tackle allegations of grand corruption. This includes bribery of public officials, embezzlement, abuse of function and laundering the proceeds of crime.
The IACCC is currently assisting domestic grand corruption investigations in more than 40 different jurisdictions around the world. In 2022 alone, the IACCC identified more than £380 million of stolen and hidden assets.
Director-General of the FIOD, Niels Obbink, signed an memorandum of understanding on Wednesday (September 6) confirming the agency’s status as an official member of the IACCC.
Danny Murphy, head of the IACCC, said: “Since 2017 when the IACCC launched, we have worked closely with FIOD colleagues and we are pleased to welcome them today as full members.
“The IACCC is the only organisation in the world that can provide dedicated operational support to grand corruption investigations.
:Corruption investigations often span a number of countries and jurisdictions, so working hand in glove with international agencies is imperative.
“The IACCC will continue to share intelligence and evidence to support investigating authorities seeking a conviction and pursue stolen assets, no matter where in the world the crime has happened”.
Mr Obbink said: “Within the legal frameworks, the Anti-Corruption Centre of the FIOD works closely with investigative services from European and non-European countries to detect corruption crimes, to monitor money flows and to collect evidence of corruption. Good and fast international information sharing helps with this.
“The IACCC facilitates international cooperation between participating investigative services for corruption investigations in the fight against ‘grand corruption’ in particular. That is the abuse of power, at a high level, in countries that benefit only a few at the expense of many citizens.
“International structures of legal entities, bank accounts and service providers are used, in which the Netherlands also regularly features. To combat such entrenched corruption, international cooperation and information sharing is essential
“Through our membership of the IACCC, we can combat any Dutch ties to grand corruption more effectively. We’ll also contribute to helping countries that are dealing with such large-scale corruption”.
Current members of the IACCC include the NCA, the FBI and HSI from the US, the Australian Federal Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, New Zealand Police, the New Zealand Serious Fraud Office, Interpol and the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau based in Singapore.