White Collar Crime, Fraud, Counterfeiting

This project examines recent and ongoing misconduct in the financial sector and implications for corporate governance and accountability. The misconduct ranges from abusive mortgage trades and misreporting on derivatives losses to manipulation of commodity markets. Major corporations, such as JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley, have paid billions of dollars to regulators in penalties. The research project reviews the events from the perspectives of corporate governance, specifically whether shareholders are penalized for wrongdoing of corporate managers, and how far the regulatory practice of making settlements with the companies promotes accountability and corporate governance. The penalties diminish shareholder wealth and the question is whether shareholders end up as “helpless victims.” The research herein has combined theoretical and empirical methods. The theory part of research includes discussion of various regulatory methods and their efficacy, the justification for the settlements concluded by the corporations with governments, grounds for proposed personal liability against executives, and possible class action lawsuits in the future. The empirical element consists of review of investigative reports, disclosures by the companies, and settlement orders made by regulatory agencies. This helps form an opinion on the culpability of executives and the related issue about whether the costs of misconduct in the form of penalties are passed on to shareholders.

ITA:  Il presente lavoro, esaminando le scelte operate dalla l. n. 190 del 2012 alla luce delle pulsioni riformatrici degli interpreti interni e delle organizzazioni internazionali, oltre che di un’analisi comparata con gli ordinamenti esteri, propone di interpretare la nuova fattispecie di induzione indebita a dare o promettere utilità secondo l’attuale logica clientelare, e non semplicemente mercantile, che caratterizza i fenomeni corruttivi. Su queste basi, e tenendo in considerazione l’attuale affinità con il sistema di cui agli artt. 318 ss. c.p., passa ad analizzare la struttura del delitto, da intendersi come fattispecie plurisoggettiva bilaterale.

ENG: The Halting Restyling of “Concussione” (Extortion By A Public Official) and the Structural Problems of “Induzione Indebita a Dare O Promettere Utilità” (Undue Induction).
The paper, evaluating the choices made by l. n. 190/2012 in the light of the reforming tendencies of italian interpreters and international organizations, as well as of a comparison with foreign legal systems, proposes to interpret the new crime of undue induction in the actual crony perspective of corruption. On these grounds, and
according to the affinity to bribery, the Author concludes for the configuration of the induction as a bilateral plurisubjective crime.

Yesterday i came across a first impression case of Yi Tai Shao. It fascinated me when i read it was a historical case, one that is shedding the light on the dark side of the courts that many of us have experienced all too well. This case takes one from the back rooms of kidnapping a child to what appear to be pay outs exceeding the limits set, via an innocent enough looking organization The American Inn's of The Courts. Yes, this story is one everyone should take time to read and think about. Not everyone has what it takes to take a stand of this magnitude and rather the system sees her "win" or not, she already has as she opens the door at the "Inn" and connects the corruption further inside the shadow's of the chambers.

Corrupt exchanges are often brokered by a third party, but this phenomenon has not been satisfactorily explored by researchers of corruption. Literature on brokerage in general provides interesting models but they have not previously been applied to corrupt exchanges. Based on in-depth qualitative interviews with respondents who participated in actual corrupt transactions, this paper identifies several distinct brokerage types in low-level corruption in contemporary Hungary. The paper also provides explanation of variation in corruption brokerage in terms of actors' group affiliations, forms of the corrupt exchanges, brokerage mechanisms, as well as neutrality, benefit and motivation, risk distribution, and stability of the brokerage structure. Finally, we discuss some policy implications of corruption brokerage.

The risk of fraud and exposure to various scams and other forms of criminal activity are ever present. Directors and boards of companies that have been victims of hacking and fraud may be tempted to conceal what has happened in order to avoid damaging relationships with stakeholders that are built upon trust, but they should also recognise that sharing their experience and collaborating with law enforcement agencies may help collective responses.

Published as: Coulson-Thomas, Colin (2017), Fraud, Directors and the Board, Director Today, Vol. III, Issue V, May pp 55-57

CORRUPTION AND MALPRACTICES HAVE ALWAYS EXISTED. IN THE FIRST PART OF THIS WORK WE REVIEWED THE EXISTING LITERATURE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT ARE THIS PHENOMENONS, THE MOTIFS AND OPPORTUNITY WHICH CAN LEAD TO MISBEHAVIOUR IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS, HOW THEY BECAME THE NORM AND THE EFFECT THEY CAN PRODUCE, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AS WELL. WE DID NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE ROLE OF AUTHORITY IN THIS CONTEXT, LOOKING AND SCHIEN'S FIVE MECHANISMS. THE SECOND PART IS THE CORE OF THIS THESIS. WE WANTED TO AFFIRM THE IMPORTANCE OF WHISTLEBLOWING; WHICH HAS IN MORE AND MORE OCCASIONS PROVED TO BE ONE OF THE KEY INGREDIENTS TO FIGHT AND PREVENT THE BIRTH AND GROWTH OF MALPRACTICES. AFTER DISCOVERING WHAT WHISTLEBLOWING IS AND WHO ARE THESE "MODERN HEROES" WE LOOKED AT HOW DIFFERENT COUNTRIES (U.S., JAPAN AND E.U.) DECIDED - OR PROPOSED - TO PROTECT THEM FROM ACTIONS LIKE RETALIATION TO ASSURE THAT THEIR VOICE WILL BE HEARD. THE LAWS WE PRESENTED ARE NOT WITHOUT CRITICISMS. EVENTUALLY, WE STUDIED THE ROLE THAT THE GOVERNANCE - MANAGERS AND AUDITORS - HAVE IN SHAPING AN OPEN ENVIRONMENT, WHERE THE REPORTS FROM WHISTLEBLOWERS ARE NOT SOMETHING TO BE AFRAID OF, A SIGN OF BETRAYAL, BUT A TOOL TO IMPROVE THE ORGANIZATION'S PERFORMANCES AND ITS EXTERNAL PERCEPTION.​

Purpose - To evaluate the extent to which hubristic behaviour on the part of Thomas Farrow contributed to the downfall of Farrow’s Bank in 1920.

Design/methodology/approach - The article traces the way in which Thomas Farrow’s behaviour changed over the course of his managerial career using primary sources obtained from various British archives, including: court records, witness statements, auditors’ reports, newspapers, journals, and personal letters. The article then evaluates Farrow’s actions in relation to the criteria outlined in Petit and Bollaert’s (2012) ‘Framework for Diagnosing CEO Hubris’ so as to assess how far he can be said to have become afflicted by managerial hubris.

Findings - All the collected evidence points to the conclusion that Thomas Farrow had, by the time of the Bank’s collapse in 1920, become afflicted by managerial hubris. This was reflected most clearly in the fact that he increasingly came to view himself as being somehow above and beyond the laws of the wider community. As a result, he felt little compunction about fraudulently writing-up the Bank’s assets so as to cover the huge losses that his reckless investments had produced.

Practical implications - The Farrow’s Bank episode confirms that the probability of management hubris materialising is enhanced when external control mechanisms are either lacking or inefficiently applied. On top of this, the amateurish organizational set-up of the Bank also suggests that the likelihood of hubris syndrome developing is enhanced when organisations themselves grant too much discretion to their leaders.

Originality/value - The paper breaks new ground by applying the latest management and psychology theories on the subject of leadership hubris to the field of financial management. Its value lies in the fact that it provides scholars and practitioners with an in-depth insight into how hubris syndrome can develop in organizational settings.

Nigeria has paid dearly for ethical lapses and competency deficiencies in public and private life. Fraud is systemic in Nigeria with the ordinary citizen being compelled to be either a liar, a cheat or an outright thief. Fraud has stultified growth and national development, subverted the nation’s values and norms, generated a culture of illegality and impunity in public service, and frittered away the promise of the nation’s future. Today, the nation faces the trauma of a State whose date with destiny has been put on hold, for reasons that are completely self made, and completely avoidable. Any remedial measure that does not address core and ingrained character defects in leaders and followers, will not attract great success. What is needed is a strong accountability framework, an integrity system that is efficient in design and effective in operation, and a new generation of leaders. The choice before the nation is simple: Bend or Break... Value recreation is a must. We may be disappointed if we fail; but we are doomed if we do not try.

Keywords: Fraud, Corruption, White-Collar Crimes. I.

White collar criminality is causing a potential threat to socioeconomic life of each and every country in the world. It is distinct from traditional crimes and therefore demands different treatment. In India, white collar crimes include bank frauds, blackmail, bribery, computer fraud, counterfeiting, environmental schemes, racketeering, embezzlement, money laundering, tax evasion, telemarketing fraud, weight and measures etc. To combat the menace causing by this form of criminality, the Indian government has enacted several laws from time to time. However, despite having plethora of laws on white collar criminality the pertinent question that still exists is whether these laws are implementing effectively in India. This question has prompted the authors to make critical analysis on the working of laws dealing with white collar criminality by studying two important surveys from 2014-2017. Lastly, some valuable suggestions are also put forward hoping to contribute in effective implementation of such laws.

As profundas mutações socioeconómicas, em especial, dos últimos
três séculos, impulsionaram a necessidade de proteger os modos
de afirmação económica dos operadores económicos, em mercado
de livre concorrência. Concomitantemente, e num plano individual,
fomentaram uma sociedade ávida de consumo, por bens que alavanquem
o prestígio social. Estas duas carências unidas foram alvo da
atenção de legisladores nacionais e internacionais, que no decurso
do tempo tentaram burilar as normas que sustentassem a eficácia da
livre concorrência. Mas, na exata medida que o Homem cria, também
destrói. À livre concorrência opõe-se assim a concorrência desleal,
nas suas diversas formulações. Surge o engodo e a falsídia, na tentativa
de contornar as regras de mercado saudável. O fenómeno da
contrafação atinge globalmente valores exorbitantes. É esse exato
valor que se perde em receita fiscal e postos de trabalho, ao qual
deve ser somado o inquantificável, de desinvestimento na inovação.
A diversificação de produtos alvo ameaça, mais que nunca, pôr em
causa a saúde pública e a segurança de pessoas e bens. Demanda-se,
com urgência, uma atuação policial concertada, apta a debelar o
crime que vai alimentando, pela facilidade e impunidade com que é
cometido, organizações criminosas, por todo o mundo.

Document prepared by Clifford L. Karchmer, Director of Training and Operations, National Center on White-Collar Crime, established at the Battelle Law and Justice Study Center; and by Donna Randall, Research Assistance, under a grant from the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration

This practical guide on fighting counterfeits is meant to assist Manufacturers, Government Law enforcement agencies, consumer students and other interested persons to understand the protection of Intellectual Property Rights in Kenya and how to apply the Law in relation to acts of counterfeiting. This book also makes reference at the present Kenya legal framework relating to counterfeiting and the role of government departments and in combating business malpractices.  The booklet further gives highlight of the Anti-counterfeit Bill 2007, makes some recommendations and proposes the way forward in combating counterfeiting in Kenya

Operational Guide written by Felicia Muftic, Denver District Attorney's Office; prepared under Law Enforcement Assistance Administration grant to the Battelle Law and Justice Study Center, Seattle, Washington, for the National Center on White Collar Crime