Reaching the parts other investigations cannot reach

Purpose - This paper aims to examine 12 cases in which financial investigation was used in the UK to secure a conviction of an organised crime group. Importantly, no conviction would have been achieved in these cases without the use of financial investigation. Design/methodology/approach - Qualitative interviews were undertaken with investigating officers/financial investigators/prosecutors associated with 60 cases in which a conviction and subsequent confiscation order were achieved. Of these 60 cases, a conviction would not have been achieved without the use of financial investigation in 12 cases. In other cases (not examined here), financial investigation played a supporting role for other methods of investigation to achieve a conviction. This paper provides a reanalysis of the 12 cases concerned. Findings - The study shows that financial investigation was often introduced at the pre‐arrest stage in an investigation, although there were still opportunities to introduce financial investigation earlier in the case in some instances. While a range of different types of criminality were investigated, all 12 were eventually convicted of financial crime. Research limitations/implications - The research was limited by the small number of cases examined and by the fact that it relied on the recollections of those involved in the cases, rather than analysis of case files. Further research should examine a wider range of cases in which a conviction was secured solely through financial investigation. Originality/value - This paper is the first to analyse cases in which convictions for organised crime would not have been achieved without financial investigation.