Joint investigations by police and customs
The Joint Financial Investigation Teams (GFG) of the NRW police and the Essen Customs Investigation Office focus on combating money laundering and preventing the financing of terrorism (financial investigations independent of proceedings). The investigations of both authorities are coordinated according to the principle of "shared desks" in order to make optimum use of the potential. Outstanding cases of organized and serious crime are handled by investigation commissions.
Skimming of assets and fundamental matters
Another focus is the confiscation of criminally obtained assets (integrated financial investigations). The aim is to confiscate the assets obtained from or for the crime from the perpetrators. Depending on the offense, these are provisionally secured to guarantee later claims by injured parties or for the expected enforcement of state claims as a result of court forfeiture decisions.
An overview of the financial investigations situation in North Rhine-Westphalia is provided by the annual NRW Financial Investigations Situation Report.
