The number of financial crime investigations in Finland has doubled in a decade, yet authorities are recovering less criminal money than before, according to a new report by the Police University College.
In 2024, Finnish police reported more than 2,600 suspected financial crimes and closed nearly 2,200 cases. Despite this increase, investigators recovered just €29 million in proceeds. The number of unresolved cases reached 4,450 by the end of the year.
Vesa Muttilainen, Senior Researcher at the college, said the trend marks a clear shift. “The number of open cases has doubled in 10 years. At the same time, the amount of recovered proceeds of crime has become constantly smaller almost throughout this 10-year period,” he said in a statement.
Investigators now face significantly longer case durations. The average length of a financial crime probe in 2024 was nearly 16 months, the longest in recent decades. From the time of the offence to the end of an investigation, the average span was 32 months.
The report attributed delays to the growing complexity and international nature of economic crime. Cryptocurrency use poses particular challenges, as does incomplete documentation and public access rules affecting case materials.
Over 20 percent of financial crime investigators surveyed said they were experiencing burnout. Still, most respondents reported being motivated and satisfied with their work.
The college based its findings on responses from 201 investigators and their assistants, collected in spring 2024. The survey response rate was just over 47 percent.
HT
