WIREDGOV

The Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) is the newest member of the International Anti-Corruption Crime Centre (IACCC).

Director General of the FIOD, Niels Obbink, signed an MOU on 6 September 2023 confirming the agency’s status as an official member of the IACCC.

The IACCC brings together specialist law enforcement officers from multiple agencies around the world to tackle allegations of grand corruption. This includes bribery of public officials, embezzlement, abuse of function and laundering the proceeds of crime.

Hosted within the National Crime Agency in London, current members of the IACCC include the NCA, FBI and HSI from the United States, the Australian Federal Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, New Zealand Police, the New Zealand Serious Fraud Office, INTERPOL and the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau based in Singapore.

The IACCC is currently assisting domestic grand corruption investigations in over 40 different jurisdictions around the world. In 2022 alone, the IACCC identified more than £380 million of stolen and hidden assets.

Danny Murphy, Head of the International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre said: “Since 2017 when the IACCC launched, we have worked closely with FIOD colleagues and we are pleased to welcome them as full members.

“The IACCC is the only organisation in the world that can provide dedicated operational support to grand corruption investigations.

Corruption investigations often span a number of countries and jurisdictions, so working hand in glove with international agencies is imperative.

“The IACCC will continue to share intelligence and evidence to support investigating authorities seeking a conviction and pursue stolen assets, no matter where in the world the crime has happened”.

Director General of the FIOD Niels Obbink said: “Within the legal frameworks, the Anti-Corruption Center of the FIOD works closely with investigative services from European and non-European countries to detect corruption crimes, to monitor money flows and to collect evidence of corruption. Good and fast international information sharing helps with this.

“The IACCC facilitates international cooperation between participating investigative services for corruption investigations in the fight against 'grand corruption' in particular. That is the abuse of power, at a high level, in countries that benefit only a few at the expense of many citizens. International structures of legal entities, bank accounts and service providers are used, in which the Netherlands also regularly features. To combat such entrenched corruption, international cooperation and information sharing is essential.

Through our membership of the IACCC, we can combat any Dutch ties to grand corruption more effectively. We’ll also contribute to helping countries that are dealing with such large-scale corruption”.