Although white-collar crimes are not violent, they do have victims. White-collar offences can bankrupt an organisation, damage a person’s hard-earned savings, lose millions of investors and investments, and damage public confidence in authorities. White-collar crimes include the theft of money or another valuable item but do not include the use of violence or the threat of force. They are also frequently linked to organised crime—for example, extortion, money laundering.
White-collar crimes:
- Are Illegal
- Are done by a significant company
- Are done by someone having a strong social standing within the organisation
- Are done while engaged in a line of work or career
- Involve a breach of trust
We at Lex Conseiller hold expertise and knowledge in cases like white-collar crimes. To put it simply, white-collar crimes are crimes committed by those who rise to prominent positions inside an organisation.
Reasons for a Rise in White-Collar Crimes
Corruption, fraud, and bribery are the most frequent reasons for committing white-collar crimes. India is an emerging nation, and white-collar crimes, unemployment, poor health, and other factors increasingly contribute to its social dysfunction. Other reasons which led to the growth of white-collar crimes are-
- Greed
- Lack of awareness among people
- Lack of strict rules and laws
- Lack of accountability
- Competition
- Peer support
- Loopholes and legal structure
- The advancement of science and technology
White-collar crime is also committed to supporting one’s household and the individual’s necessities. However, the main desire of those with high social standing is to satisfy their pride.
What are the Types of White-Collar Crimes?
White-collar crimes are hard to pick from the society which is covered by other heinous crimes such as a black collar crimes or blue-collar crimes, but some of the highlighted white-collar crimes are stated below:
Ponzi Scheme
Ponzi schemes are investment frauds that promise victims massively huge profits. The freshly deposited funds of new investors provide such returns to the initial investors. The fraud crashes like a wall of bricks whenever the fraudster is unable to bring in enough new customers to pay off the old ones, leaving numerous investors with significant losses.
Insider Trading
Insider trading is a process whereby individuals who, due to their employment, have access to data that is sometimes not publicly available but may be necessary for making financial decisions, exchange a company’s secrets to make financial gains.
Money Laundering
Money laundering is the act of hiding or covering the sources of unlawfully obtained revenues that make them appear as though they came from the legal sources. It typically involves other significant offences like drug dealing, robberies, or extortion.
Money laundering is pervasive and can be discovered in fields like criminal offences, where one would least suspect it. The emergence of cryptocurrencies like bitcoins has made this situation worse.
Legislations for White Collar Crimes
In India, there are no specific laws dealing with white-collar crimes. Still, several legislations help to overcome crimes like white-collar and blue-collar. The government has introduced the necessary laws to make sure that those who commit white-collar crimes are punished:
- Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018
- Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002
- Prevention of Corruption [Amendment] Act, 2018
- Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (In Financial Establishments)Act, 1999
- IndianPenal Code, 1860
- The Companies Act, 1960
- The Companies Act, 2013
- The Income Tax Act, 1961
- The Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881
Difference Between Blue-Collar Crimes and White-Collar Crimes
White-collar employees, such as bankers, and officials, have easier access to the assets and resources required to perpetrate the crime, including money, clients, and personal data. It is why crime is known as white-collar crime.
A blue-collar crime is one that a working-class or lower class commits. It can also be used to describe a crime that doesn’t include a powerful criminal or a criminal with accessibility to wealthier assets.
- Powers and assets required to commit white-collar crimes are available to white-collar workers only, whereas blue-collar crime doesn’t need any resources.
- White-collar crimes physically do not harm the person, but it affects the person’s wealth/resources, whereas blue-collar crimes abuse the victim physically.
- In white-collar crime, the damage is not direct. On the other hand, in blue-collar crime, the damage is direct.
- Examples of white-collar crime are fraud, identity theft, and blue-collar crimes, including rape, drugs, etc.
- Blue-collar crime victims can often be identified, but white-collar crime victims may be challenging to identify.
White-collar crimes are commonly portrayed as “victimless,” which is false. White-collar crime influences many stakeholders, investors, workers, consumers, and anyone contributing to a company’s higher operation costs.
Contact Us for the Best Assistance
The crime rate is rising as our civilisation moves closer to technology and the social experiences of new technological advancements. In addition, there has been a massive increase in white-collar crimes committed worldwide, including in educational institutions and the medical sector.
The first step to obtaining a defence against any crime is to hire a potential lawyer with skills and knowledge about the legality of the crime. We at Lex Conseillor provide competent assistance as soon as possible; you obtain an expert advocate who can foresee future legal risk and optimise the time for you and your lawyer to develop a defence plan. We handle complex white-collar crimes and assist with the same.