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The purpose of this paper is to identify the key challenges in tackling modern economic and cyber crimes, evaluate the existing legal and enforcement mechanisms in place, and propose a way forward to address these challenges.

The paper analyses the main difficulties posed by the borderless, complex and rapidly evolving nature of modern economic and cyber crimes. This allows the key shortcomings of the present legal and enforcement infrastructure to be identified. By examining different models, ranging from vertical supranational structures such as the International Criminal Court and the proposed European Public Prosecutor, to soft‐law regimes such as the intergovernmental network the Financial Action Task Force, as well as intermediate approaches like Eurojust, a hybrid model incorporating elements from these various regimes is proposed.

A transnational approach must be adopted to address the phenomenon of modern economic and cyber crimes which are cross‐border, complex, profit‐driven and rapidly evolving. A suitable multilateral platform needs to be created to facilitate international co‐operation in a more coordinated and sustained fashion, and for the development of a set of common standards and principles to be enforced through a process of mutual assessments and periodic peer review.

The paper advocates the establishment of a hybrid multilateral regime which incorporates both elements of a “vertical” supranational structure as well as a “horizontal” state‐centric framework. This will inject the institutional focus to facilitate international co‐operation and also provide the platform for the promulgation of common standards and principles in fighting cross‐border economic and cyber crimes. The paper will be of interest to law enforcement agencies, prosecutorial authorities and national policy makers.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the growing problem of cross‐border fraud, assess the structures that have emerged to deal with it, identify weaknesses and make the case for a new international body to lead the fight against cross‐border fraud.

This paper reviews various primary and secondary resources drawn from around the world to assess the current infrastructure for addressing cross‐border fraud.

The paper finds various gaps as well as examples of good practice in the fight against cross‐border fraud. However, to have a meaningful impact it is concluded a new international body is required.

The paper is largely focused upon the English speaking world and the European Union and does not explore the nature and response to the problem beyond these areas, other than in current international led responses.

The findings have implications for national and international bodies in considering appropriate ways forward in creating stronger infrastructures to counter cross‐border fraud.

This paper will be useful to policy‐makers and the law enforcement community in considering options for the future and is the first to advocate a new international capacity to fight cross‐border fraud.

The Second African Conference on Economic Crime took place in Johannesburg from 17th to 19th July, 1996. The Conference was organised under the auspices of the Centre for International Documentation on Organised Crime (CIDOEC) by the Police Science Sub‐department of the University of South Africa, the Centre for Business Law of the University of the Orange Free State, the Office for Serious Economic Offences of the Department of Justice of the Republic of South Africa, the Commercial Crime Branch of the South African Police Service and Business Against Crime.

The practicality of anti-corruption efforts has been debated in development circles since the 1990s (World Bank, 1998). Moving beyond monetary metrics, this paper seeks to contribute to the discussion by assessing whether the cost of anti-corruption measures is proportionate to international concerns about corruption. This study aims to focus on the Namibian “Fishrot” files, an ongoing scandal that involves bribery, tax evasion and cross-border exploitation for access to the country’s fishing grounds. The Fishrot files implicate parties in both Namibia and Iceland, and the case provides insight into why the costs of financial crime and anti-corruption may be unduly borne by the global East. Especially because corruption stands to disrupt political and economic stability in developing countries, an understanding of these costs is essential for preventing further barriers to development.

This study focuses on the case of the Namibian “Fishrot” files to compare the cost of financial crime with the price of fighting it. It incorporates cost-benefit considerations on anti-corruption from political, economic and environmental perspectives.

This paper suggests that an imbalance in the response to corruption in the global East and West stands to damage development progress in countries like Namibia. It encourages a more holistic approach to anti-corruption efforts, one that acknowledges the heightened cost and burden of such efforts in developing countries.

This study provides a broadened perspective for assessing the effectiveness of anti-corruption initiatives, particularly for cases that involve cross-border financial crime between developing and developed countries.

This paper aims to examine the many unusual roles played by the Italian Guardia di Finanza (GdF), and how that unique blend of missions sometimes overlaps as much with conceptions of domestic security as it does with the policing of financial crimes.

This paper analyzes the agency's historical organization and evolution, legal authorities and changing missions. It uses publicly available government documents and secondary analysis.

This organization, for historical reasons, was an early version of a hybrid agency that conducted both crime control and national protective missions – policing economic crime, patrolling borders and coasts and attempting to regulate the flows of goods and people into and out of the Italian state.

This analysis uses data collected from annual reports of the Guardia di Finanza, as well as journalistic reporting and scholarly analysis, to assess the changing agency, but it does not use internal sources or direct observation, which could inform future related analyses.

GdF’s unique set of undertakings is particularly relevant as the comparative policing and financial crime literatures grow, and particularly as they continue to overlap with the broader comparative security literature.

Policing, and police reform, has been very high profile in recent years, and will continue to be. The unusual structure of Italian policing, and the GdF in particular, have insights that could inform other nations police and policing.

This analysis is designed to describe an unusual case – of financial policing, of policing in general, and of domestic security policy – and illustrating how those issues overlap and relate. National police agencies often have missions that evolve over time, and this is a case study in such evolution.

This paper aims to map key strategic concerns that Commonwealth Caribbean States will face in combating economic crimes and strengthening financial integrity in the post-pandemic era.

Horizon scanning was used to conduct a qualitative policy analysis of key regulatory developments in international anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFTP) and tax governance, from the perspective of Commonwealth Caribbean countries.

This paper finds that the COVID-19 pandemic might widen several fault lines, along the Global North/South axis, in international AML/CFTP and tax regulatory governance. These include the “sustainable development” gap in AML/CFTP norm-making; making the Financial Action Task Force fit-for-purpose; renewed campaigns against “harmful tax competition”; and international commitment to scaling up technical assistance to combat economic crimes in developing countries. It questions the sustainability of the prevailing “levelling the playing field” regulatory approach to AML/CFTP and tax matters and whether serious consideration ought not to be given to mainstreaming “differential treatment” in international AML/CFTP and tax standards, for resource-strapped Caribbean countries.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is the first attempt to assess the strategic policy risks and challenges that will arise from balancing economic recovery and fighting economic crimes by small and vulnerable Commonwealth Caribbean States in the post-pandemic era.

Since the abolition of exchange control in the late 1970s and early 1980s, it has been possible instantly to transfer money of any amount or denomination virtually anywhere in the world. It means that, because the criminal law is territorially based, and differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, the investigation and prosecution of fraud and the related offences of money laundering and corruption are peculiarly dependent upon mutual legal assistance between states.

This paper aims to provide authorities managing free trade zones, business enterprises, financial institutions and dedicated free zone customs, police and immigration command assigned to deal with aspects of movement of goods and persons in and out of the free zones with a clear understanding of the cross-border financial crime risks associated with the African Continental Free Trade Area and the risk control measures that combines human intelligence with advanced technology to combat cross-border financial crimes in the African Continental Free Trade Area.

A range of research activities would be used in this study. In addition to a sweeping literature review of academic, official studies and media writings, the main focus is on critically evaluating and analysing primary data by searching and collecting statutes, court cases, administrative rules and regulations and policy documents.

This paper identified bribery and corruption; modern slavery; and trade-based money laundering as the financial crime risks that are of priority concern to African Continental Free Trade Areas and demonstrated how countries can assess and mitigate these risks through adequate policies, procedures and controls including appropriate compliance management arrangement and adequate screening procedures to ensure high standards when hiring employees; corporate transparency; training on managing incidents of modern slavery, forced labour and third-party exploitation; and appropriate monitoring framework for trade-based money laundering activities.

While many authors have written research papers on intra-African trade, none of those research papers explained how countries can assess and mitigate financial crime risks in free trade zones. This research paper describes the ways in which cross-border financial crime risks can be assessed and adequately addressed by the authorities managing free trade zones. This research paper analyses the risk assessment topic in line with the African Continental Free Trade Area with a focus on free trade zones in Nigeria. This research paper would help authorities managing free trade zones, commercial organisations and business enterprises to identify, prevent and mitigate cross-border financial crime risks. Zone managements and business enterprises that implement the risk-based approach, in line with the guidance given in this research paper, will be well-placed to avoid the consequences of inappropriate de-risking behaviour.

Based on a considerable degree of commonality between multinational enterprises (MNEs) and cross-border criminal organisations, the purpose of this paper is to identify ways and areas in which international business (IB) research could be of value in improving understanding of the operations of cross-border criminal organisations and in the development of effective countermeasures to global crime.

A review of the characteristics of legitimate MNEs and cross-border criminal organisations is undertaken to assess the applicability of IB research approaches in understanding the strategies and structures of organised criminal groups.

Despite some obvious differences there appears to be sufficient commonality between legitimate and illegitimate international commerce so that the firm-centric focus of IB research could provide valuable insights complementing the policy-oriented approach of criminology. Some adaptation of IB research tools may be required. The exchange is not one-way: studies of cross-border crime also offer lessons for IB scholars.

IB scholarly work on cross-border crime could enrich both the fields of IB and transnational criminology. Better understanding of criminal enterprises could also facilitate the design of more effective interdiction policies.

Despite their commonalities and interactions, the two sectors of international enterprise have developed separately, and this paper identifies and explores possible synergies between the two.

This paper aims to outline the Italian framework of rules against economic crime and to verify if Italian legislation provides for appropriate and effective measures according to own needs both at a national and European level.

The paper uses a comparative approach by examining the European and Italian legal systems for finding analogies and differences between them.

The study has revealed the need of a greater international harmonisation of criminal laws and penalties as well as the transnationality of the economic crime cuts the chance of success of every national strategy, given that transnational criminals are encouraged by the awareness that their cross-border activities complicate law-enforcement efforts against them.

To maintain a common international level in the protection of individuals from the risk of economic crimes and to enforce the effectiveness of European and national regulations.

The achievement of a high level of protection, for public security and social cohesion, to prevent and reduce economic crimes, in particular, cybercrimes.

To ensure a high level of security for the general public by taking action against money laundering, cybercrimes and other sorts of misconducts.

Fighting economic crime requires the close cooperation of law enforcements from different countries, which the traditional law enforcement institutions are not designed to provide.