The Emergence of White Collar Crime in India

Crime has always existed in society. What has changed is the modus operandi and the face of crime. Today, in the recent few years, we have come across a different type of crime- white-collar crimes. What basically is it?

According to the legal definition, it is the crime committed by the higher class or sophisticated section of people in society. These people come from reputable sections and have been committing the crime while being in occupation. Such people are seen to have a better understanding of the latest technology. They have a stronghold in their field of expertise or discipline. White-collar crime comes in different forms and in different segments. Unlike the blue collared ones, white collar investigations are tough ones because of the fact that these are organised and well planned. The person committing the crime leads a respectful life in society, till it is discovered.

What Makes White Collar Defense and Investigations Tough?

There are multiple reasons behind this. According to the experts and the people investigating such white-collar crimes, it is the nature of the crime that makes it hard to discover. People committing this have a well-structured process and are conducted in a well-organised manner. In addition to this, the crime because of its different forms becomes difficult to be traced for long. These are committed by smart, intelligent people who are most successful in the segment.

According to the professionals, unlike the blue-collar crimes, these are not personal and do not involve violent methods. As such, white collar investigations are difficult to deal with.

White Collar Crimes at its Impact Overall

Experts believe that white-collar crimes impact a large section of society. The reason being, the types of crimes that form these white-collar crimes. More often it is termed as a socio-economic crime. Such activities impact the business environment and deplete the interest of the investors. India, in the past, has been hit by several white-collar crimes and some of them being hawala scams, stock scams, fodder scams, banking scams, and many more. This means that the consumers have to pay higher taxes and revenue to the government. The different spots for possible crime have started including advanced technologies that are not only intelligent but difficult to crack as these have modern surveillance, solution providers.

Types of White-Collar Crimes

The following are the different types of crimes that come under the ambit of white collar defense and investigations—

• Bank fraud through false representation by frauds or fraudulent companies
• Bribery by a person sitting at a higher position in lieu of some services or work that would rather have been free.
• Cybercrimes- one of the most recent and frequent of all white-collar crimes. It includes hacking, copyright infringement, cyber terrorism, cyberstalking, pornography, and many more. It not only impacts a person financially but also invades privacy.
• Money Laundering is where the person committing the crime tries to hide the original owner of the money by dumping it by some illegal means
• Tax evasion and Identity Theft to gain money

White Collar Crimes Differ with Field

One of the toughest challenges faced in the segment of white collar criminal investigations is identifying the crime. Since the type and nature of crime differ with field, therefore, for an investigator, the first task stands at identifying the answers to ‘WHAT’, ‘HOW’ and then ‘WHY’. White collar investigations related to the Banking sector are going to be different from that of the IT sector.

The company entrusted with the investigation has to collaborate with internal and external authorities to prevent reputational damage and unnecessary exposure and carry out a Financial Fraud Analysis. They also have to give Legal assistance in both criminal and civil cases. Often managing incidents and planning a response along with identifying the culprit within the team.

Conclusion

It is important to deal with these white-collar crimes effectively and efficiently. Legislations are there to tackle it but can only succeed if the evidence is strong enough to prove the crime in court of law. It is equally important to be at par with the technology when it comes to white collar criminal investigations. Pelorus have been servicing MNC’s for years in battling financial fraud analysis & white collar investigations with a good success. Pelorus offers services that help detect white collar crimes. Do call Pelorus for a demo right away!