The application of cognitive interviews to financial crimes

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present an argument for the use of cognitive interviews to be use in financial crime investigations. In particular, the paper argues that the components of cognitive interview make it useful for financial crime investigators to gather and collate information on financial criminality. Design/methodology/approach - The paper chronicles the literature on cognitive interviews to critically evaluate its usefulness in previous studies. Findings - A critical examination of the literature shows that cognitive interviews were successfully used in a variety of circumstances. Despite its difficulties, the empirical evidence reveals that cognitive interview fared well in laboratory studies across different (and vulnerable) population groups. Practical implications - There is evidence to suggest that cognitive interviews can be an effective technique to interview witnesses of financial crimes. The fact that white-collar criminals, more often than not, comes from a “gentleman background” and are not accustomed to the role of “criminal suspect,” makes cognitive interview techniques a useful tool for fraud investigators. Originality/value - To the author’s knowledge, this is the first paper of its kind to conduct a thorough literature review and apply cognitive interview techniques to financial crime investigation.