Determinants, principles and perspectives of cooperation between the polish fi nancial supervision authority and the police in economic security and prevention of economic crime — a quest for synergies

The Polish Financial Supervision Authority (hereinafter: KNF) is the key element of the economic security system of the Polish State. By establishing the KNF, the Polish legislator applied the concept of integratedfi nancial supervision (covering bank supervision, insurance supervision and capital market supervision) located outside the central bank. The KNF has been vested with a broad mandate, including powers to supervise authorised entities. However, the scope and nature of measures available to the KNF in the prevention of economic crime are determined by the institutional position of the KNF, which has not been established as a law enforcement authority or a uniformed or special service but rather an institution engaged in the fi ght against economic crime by providing expertise, supporting other state services specialised in this area. The KNF and the Offi ce of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (hereinafter: UKNF) actively support, among others, the police units that fi ght crime in the fi nancial market and work to increase the economic security of the Polish State. Therefore, it is imperative to ensure broad and effi cient cooperation between the police and the KNF. However, such collaboration must not be limited to relations between the institutions’ management; it should also involve, as far as possible, working and operational activities carried out at both institutions by individuals responsible for day-to-day tasks. This paper provides a closer perspective on the formal and organisational framework of said cooperation and discusses its examples.