Increase in investments to combat money laundering, insight into results still inadequate
As in 2008 government policy goals still uncertain and lacking direction
Successive governments in the Netherlands have released additional funds and deployed more people in the police and at the Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) and the Public Prosecution Service to combat the laundering of funds obtained from criminal activities in recent years. The police in particular are presenting more facts about money laundering to the Public Prosecution Service. However, the authorities do not know whether the main money laundering risks have been reduced. The Netherlands Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), a specialised police unit, informs the investigation services of suspicious transactions. FIU has had increasingly less insight into the use made of this information since it migrated to a new IT system in 2011. The Court of Audit has found that the Minister of Security and Justice and the Minister of Finance may have invested in capacity, expertise and information exchange but they still cannot say to what effect.