The activities of criminal justice systems focus almost entirely upon the crimes of the relatively powerless. If this relative downplaying of the crimes of the powerful is both a ubiquitous and long-term phenomenon it has become more pronounced in a period marked by 'globalization', within which states are less rather than more likely to regulate business. In this research note we report upon a recent initiative in Finland aimed at controlling economic crime an initiative that is important for at least two reasons. First, because it indicates that attempts at such control are at least possible and second because it allows us to identify some of the preconditions for such an initiative to be put into place. We set out some of the basic elements of the crime control initiative before turning to examine how and why this control initiative was able to emerge. Finally, we consider what implications can be drawn from this.