NCJ Number
99332
Journal
UNAFEI Resource Material Series Issue: 26 Dated: (December 1984) Pages: 52-62
Date Published
1984
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This review explains three methods that the United States generally uses to obtain international cooperation in the investigation and prosecution of nonfiscal economic crimes.
Abstract
These crimes include crimes against financial institutions, the promotion and sale of fraudulent securities, and the transfer of funds gained from illicit activities into other countries. Crucial barriers to investigating and prosecuting these crimes include the difficulty of discovering and identifying the offense, the need to use the same source of evidence several times during a lengthy investigation, the large volume of documents requiring analysis, and the need to subpoena much of the evidence from victims. Because traditional arrangements for cooperation among police agencies from different nations are often inadequate for dealing with economic crimes, the United States uses other approaches to obtain international assistance. These include requests for letters rogatory (a request from an American tribunal to a tribunal in the other country), the development of an executive agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice and its foreign counterpart, and mutual assistance treaties. The United States has six mutual assistance treaties, the first of which involved Switzerland, began in 1977, and dealt with the issue of bank secrecy. This treaty has benefited both countries. Another treaty (involving The Netherlands), which can serve as a model for future treaty negotiations, specifies six forms of assistance. Notes are included.