BKA Vienna

Visit to Austrian Federal Office of Criminal Investigation. Insights into the world of white-collar crime.

Deputy director Dr Andrea Ranninger welcomed the delegation from the Club of Trade Delegates and gave an overview of the activities of the Austrian Federal Office of Criminal Investigation (Bundeskriminalamt, BKA). This was followed by a presentation entitled "Commercial Crime" given by Mag. Rudolf Unterköfler, head of section 3.4 (commercial and financial investigation), in which he explained the types of white-collar crime which are currently of prime concern and gave some insights into developments in the methods and techniques being used to combat this serious problem.

Safety and security are paramount in ensuring an acceptable quality of life, an efficient and effective economy, and a good business environment. Austria is ranked as one of the physically safest countries in the EU. And, according to the World Competitiveness Yearbook, Austria ranks third in the EU in terms of security and protection of property.

For companies, the economic, social and political stability prevailing in Austria offers an important competitive advantage as a business location. The low rate of crime and high degree of legal certainty are particularly attractive to companies.

The BKA leads, coordinates and provides the driving force for all Austrian involvement in important trans-regional and international actions taken against crime concerning Austria. Approximately 720 staff here in Austria work close together with colleagues in other countries and supra-national organizations. In the area of commercial crime, so-called "joint investigation teams" (JIT's) help to achieve a solving rate of 40%, even as the forms and techniques of white-collar crime get more and more complex.

From Mag. Unterköfler's point of view, the big challenges of the future are globalisation (not least because of the different legal systems in different countries), the increasing level of activity involving offshore companies, and the "explosive" development in the fields of information and telecommunication technology. Social networks such as Facebook offer criminals a treasure chest of data and contacts.