Criminal minds: profiling architects of financial crimes

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to construct a profile of a financial criminal, with special emphasis on their psychological attributes. The objective is to determine if such a profile can provide a valuable tool for detecting perpetrators of financial crime and for implementing risk-reduction strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach involved a review of various personality disorders and other mental health issues, as well as an analysis of a number of cases involving serious financial crime, to ascertain whether the behaviour of the perpetrators was consistent with certain psychological challenges. In addition, the study examined various motivators for the commission of the financial crime.

Findings

The research revealed some key commonalities among the perpetrators of financial crime and that their behaviour was often consistent with that of a person afflicted with a personality or other psychological disorder.

Originality/value

The study provides a comprehensive analysis of various personality and other psychological challenges afflicting a number of offenders involved in financial crime. It also provides some critical findings that could be valuable for those charged with establishing measures to prevent and detect financial crime.

Citation

Ali, S. (2021), "Criminal minds: profiling architects of financial crimes", Journal of Financial Crime, Vol. 28 No. 2, pp. 324-344. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-11-2020-0221