The Tampere-based Police University College has published a report describing financial crimes probes from the point of view of those who investigate the cases.
A survey of investigators found that the amount of criminal proceeds seized by authorities has declined even as the number of cases has doubled over a decade.
The report compared the situation in 2024 with corresponding data from 2015.
It said that more than 2,600 cases of economic crime were reported to police in 2024, while nearly 2,200 criminal investigations were closed.
At the end of last year, there were 4,450 open financial crimes cases in Finland. Investigations had resulted in authorities recovering around 29 million euros in criminal proceeds.
"There has been a distinct change in economic crime investigation since the mid-2010s. 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," Vesa Muttilainen, Senior Researcher of the Police University College, said in a press release.
Drawn-out probes
Last year, the average duration of a financial crime investigation was nearly 16 months — longer than at any time during the 2000s, the college said.
Meanwhile, the period between when such a crime is committed and the end of its investigation was an average of 32 months, according to the study — reflecting a clear increase compared to a decade ago.
The challenges in investigating financial crimes include the complex and international nature of the cases. For example, investigators said it is particularly difficult to recover illegally gained funds when they are hidden in cryptocurrencies.
"The respondents to the survey pointed out that challenges are also caused by missing materials, aspects related to the publicity of documents and the limitation of cases into entities to be investigated," the press release read.
More than 20 percent of the survey respondents said they felt burnt out by their work. However, for the most part, respondents said they were satisfied and motivated by their jobs.
The Police University College's study was based on survey responses offered by 201 financial crime investigators and their assistants in the spring of 2024. The survey had a response rate of just over 47 percent.
