You cannot buy experiences like this

Tomi Taskila, Senior Detective Superintendent, head investigator, Financial Crime Prevention, Criminal Investigation Department
Education: Bachelor of Business Administration (YAMK), Bachelor of Police Service

I completed the Bachelor of Police Services qualification in the mid-1990s and spent twenty years as a field officer and in investigating financial and property crime at the Helsinki Police Department. In 2015, I relocated to the National Bureau of Investigation. I completed a Bachelor of Business Administration qualification alongside work. At the NBI, I was able to put both of my qualifications to use. I was also interested in the work done at and the international nature of the NBI – and still am.

Since 2017, I have been one of the heads of unit in Financial Crime Prevention in the Criminal Investigation Department. I organise the operations of my unit with two other head investigators. Our objective is to complete pre-trial investigations to prevent bottlenecking and pass them on to consideration of charges. I am happy with my job. I have done my time doing basic legwork, and I do not miss it.

Investigating financial crime is challenging

In real-time financial crime investigation, where the things being investigated are happening right now, it is vital to be able to deploy a wide range of intelligence and coercive measures in order to gain evidence. Only the imagination and the law are the limit. In organised crime, fronts are often used to cover up criminal activities, while white-collar criminals have the education needed for planning and committing financial crime. Investigating offences like this requires expertise and commitment from the police. At the NBI, one can focus on cases that may take years to resolve. On the other hand, such long timelines can cause fatigue.

In investigating financial crimes, it is possible to learn the required skills on the job, but I have benefited from my broad acquaintance with corporate life and related legislation and regulation. An organisation must have personnel with diverse work experience, education and networks in order to perform well. I aim to consider this in recruitment. My colleagues have previous work experience in the National Enforcement Authority and Customs, and education in administrative sciences.

The societally most significant thing about investigating financial crime is recovering the proceeds of crime. This is what hits financial criminals the most, rather than prison sentences. When financial resources are removed, it is more difficult to commit new offences. This makes our work meaningful.

One of the highlights of my career was when we executed an operation involving multiple authorities on the basis of a pre-trial investigation led by myself, in the Turku archipelago on 22 September 2018. This case involved an exceptionally large array of financial offences. House searches were performed at 17 locations in the challenging circumstances of the archipelago, and there were a lot of moving parts in the operation. It was an incredible experience to witness such an operation from the perspective of a senior investigating officer. Operations days are generally great and exciting. They provide a change of pace and environment for investigators. You cannot buy experiences like this, and few people have the privilege of working here. At the NBI, as in the police in general, you see a cross-section of Finnish society about which ordinary citizens know nothing.