ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to elaborate the financial investigation approach in regard of the policy against “organized crime” by differentiating between its strategic and tactical form. In a money-laundering investigation, the aim is to unravel the paper trails in a labyrinth of money transactions in order to get a clear picture of the money-flows and prove culpability. The combination of such investigation can go beyond the tactical objectives and can be used for the more strategic aim of mapping the criminal landscape or market-section in order to find the weak spots which can be used for subsequent investigation. The tackling of profit directed crime-enterprise by means of the analysis and examination of their financial management can be indicated by the broad concept of “financial investigation”. Cross-border strategic financial investigation, with its potential impact on tactical investigations, requires much shared or mutually accessible information. Strategic financial investigation requires an investment in human intellectual capital first.
