Brexit and Business Crime: What Next?
Statistics recently released and publicised show that a record number of European criminals are believed to be the run in great britan.
Analysis of figures produced by the National Crime Agency reveals that the UK received 17,256 European arrest warrants last year for suspects wanted by police in other Eu countries.
This figure includes 619 those who are sought regarding the murders or manslaughters, 229 who are suspected of rape and 265 suspected paedophiles. And even though there is a record number of warrants, the number of arrests from April 2021 to April 2021 because of such warrants was 1,027: a five-year low along with a 35% drop on the figure for 2021-17.
Such statistics do little to raise the mood. However the situation is probably more severe compared to figures suggest. That is due largely, obviously, towards the prospect of Brexit. Last year the Director of Public Prosecutions, Max Hill QC, asserted a no-deal Brexit would result in delays in suspects being extradited if the UK ended up being to leave the ecu arrest warrant system.
This is an issue that goes beyond those alleged to have committed the most horrific crimes. It highlights the problems that Brexit can bring for the investigation and prosecution of business crime.
Business is more multinational than in the past. As a result, business crime and the investigations it prompts are more inclined than ever to cross borders and involve law enforcement agencies from the number of countries. Britain's enforcement agencies regularly liaise with their foreign counterparts on complex and multijurisdictional cases; often cooperating and sharing information and expertise. Extradition has been a relatively routine procedure. Whether that will continue remains to be seen.
The insufficient a post-Brexit security agreement has cast doubt on the UK's ability to extradite suspects or convicted individuals from EU countries underneath the European arrest warrant scheme. Post-Brexit extraditions could still be sought underneath the 1957 Council of Europe treaty but these could be more complex and expensive for the government than the usual standard European arrest warrant extradition.
In February 2021, Ireland's Supreme Court declined a request to extradite an Irish company director to London, who had fled the united kingdom following a tax fraud conviction. The court did this for the reason that by the time he finished his prison sentence, the united kingdom might have left the EU. February 2021 also saw a German court won't extradite four former Deutsche Bank traders to the UK to face trial for Euribor rigging. The following month, Monaco refused to extradite Unaoil executive Saman Ahsani towards the UK to face corruption charges following an “adverse opinion'' from Monaco's Court of Appeal. A court official stated the allegations against Ahsani were not responsible for justice, under Monaco's laws, at that time these were purported to have occurred.
Extradition appears to be in a state of flux. But it is a much in the only business-related problem. The nation's Crime Agency claims that money laundering opportunities may rise after Brexit. While critics of the Eu could claim with some justification it has not been exemplary when it comes to tackling money laundering it's a minimum of introduced a number of directives to prevent the proceeds of crime flowing into member states.
Membership from the EU has been no guarantee of protection against laundering. However it has led to progress in this area. It can be argued the UK enforcement agencies' prowess in tackling money laundering along with other forms of business crime is unrivalled by those nations remaining in the EU. This may mean individuals EU members missing britain's expertise. But from the UK point of view, it is difficult to see such prowess remaining at its existing level if its enforcement agencies can no longer rely on the relationships that currently exist between them as well as their European counterparts.
EU withdrawal means a UK exit from the EU's law enforcement agency, Europol, whose centralised intelligence is a massively valuable asset in tackling cross-border crime. Although the UK has tough anti-money laundering and corruption legislation and it is agencies have recently received enhanced powers to identify and seize the proceeds of crime, its likely lack of valuable cross-border cooperation can be costly.
