Keeping under the radar: watch out for “Smurfs”
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to argue that small‐scale, low‐value but high‐volume fraud should be pursued as seriously as high‐value, organised crime‐related fraud.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper discusses the consequences of profiling offenders and offences involving fraud against the European Community budget. It also looks at ten years of the body tasked with investigating such fraud and suggests that it has become bogged down with too many responsibilities and too few resources. It ends by describing the requirements for a successful investigative environment.
Findings
The political nature of the fight against fraud means that measures based solely on economic criteria are a mistake; measures against political and social harm need to be developed to assist in prioritization.
Practical implications
Public education is required to change the image of those who commit fraud against the Community budget. A different institutional set‐up is also advisable.
Originality/value
The paper applies the lessons learned from targeting frequent offenders in the UK who are being ignored because each individual offence is not worth pursuing but, once the offences in total are recognised, much harm could be prevented.
Keywords
Citation
Tupman, W. (2010), "Keeping under the radar: watch out for “Smurfs”", Journal of Financial Crime, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 152-162. https://doi.org/10.1108/13590791011009428
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2010, Emerald Group Publishing Limited