WOLFISM XVI from Wolfie's blog

“Money makes the world go round.”

How can we exploit the first great Mammon-truth?

What immediately comes to mind are the applications to law enforcement. Even if none of us are in that field, the thought process will be illustrative.

First, there’s the famous dictum that guides detectives who are trying to solve a crime. “Follow the money.” Get access to bank records and analyze them. Money coming in could be a clue, as could money going out. Where (or from whom) did it come in from? In exchange for what? Where (or to whom) did it go out to? In exchange for what? Detectives have caught many a perpetrator by asking these questions.

Next, there’s a ploy often used by the FBI: If you can’t prove murder, look for tax fraud. The famous gangster Al Capone went to prison not for any of his other crimes, but for tax fraud. Indicted on 22 counts, he was sentenced to eleven years. This works pretty often because those of a criminal mindset are rubbed the wrong way by having to give their money away, but they aren’t always financial mavens. Some of them will clumsily hoist themselves “with their own petard” as the saying goes.

Finally, there’s a highly effective anti-terrorist tactic: Freeze the financial assets of suspected bad actors. This is a way of getting at perpetrators who can’t otherwise be reached because they’re hiding in another country, generally a hostile one. These miscreants will often keep their money in international bank accounts, which are accessible to international law enforcement. They do this because the banks in their own countries can’t be trusted, often because of widespread corruption and thievery at every level of society in those countries.

All of this is why police detectives and federal agents will often get degrees in Accounting or Finance. They understand the first great Mammon-truth. May we all be as wise. ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!