WHITE COLLAR

CRIMES
 CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 2

ELEMENTS 4

CLASSIFICATION OF WHITE COLLAR CRIMES 5

CONTRIBUTING FACTORS 6

TYPES OF WHITE COLLAR CRIMES 8

IMPACT OF WHITE COLLAR CRIMES 14

REMEDIAL MEASURES 16

CONCLUSION 20

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INTRODUCTION
The concept of White Collar Crime is usually associated with E.H. Sutherland whose
penetrating work in this area focused on the attentions of criminologists on its demoralising
effect on the total crime picture. Sutherland pointed out that besides the traditional crimes
such as assault, robbery, dacoity, murder, rape, kidnapping and other acts involving violence,
there are certain anti-social activities which the persons of upper strata carry on in course of
their occupation or business. These activities for a long time were accepted as a part of usual
business tactics necessary for a shrewd professional man for his success in profession or
business. Thus, any complaints against these tactics often went unheeded and unpunished.

The concept of White Collar crimes found its place in criminology for the first time in 1941
when Sutherland published his research paper on white collar criminality in the American
Sociological Review. He defined white collar crime as a “crime committed by persons of
respectability and high social status in course of their occupation”. A white collar criminal
belongs to the upper strata of society who violates the criminal law while carrying out his
occupation or profession. For example, misrepresentation through fraudulent advertisements,
infringement of patents, copyrights and trademarks etc., are frequently resorted to by
manufacturers, industrialists and other persons of repute in course of their occupation with a
view to earning huge profit. In other words, it can be said that white collar crimes are usually
economic crimes associated with money. These crimes are far more harmful to the society
than other crimes as they cause huge financial losses to the society. Also, these crimes are
complex in nature and are most of the time committed by people of However, white collar
crimes by their very nature are such that the injury or damage caused as a result of them is so
widely diffused in the large body of society that their gravity in regard to an individual is
extremely negligible. It is probably for this reason that crimes of this nature did not attract a
lot of attention. However, with the passage of time white collar crimes have garnered
attention of the society and are gradually being seriously dealt with.

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CRITICISM OF SUTHERLAND’S VIEWS

Sutherland’s definition of white-collar crimes has evoked criticism from certain people.
Coleman and Moynihan pointed out that the lack of definite criteria for determining who are
‘persons of respectability and status’ has made Sutherland’s definition most controversial. It
seems likely that what Sutherland meant by this is absence from convictions for crimes other
than white collar crimes. That element of ‘high social status’ as used in the definition also
leads to confusion. Sutherland himself did not stick to this meaning and included thefts and
frauds committed by middle or even lower middle-class workers in course of their
employment or work. Some critics have suggested that such crimes should have been called
as ‘occupational crimes’ instead of being termed as white collar crimes. It is further argued
that in fact the important element in the definition of white collar crime is not the socio-
economic status of the individual, but rather the type of crime and the circumstances of its
commission. These usually include pilfering, false-accounting, bribery, embezzlement etc.

Another criticism quite often advanced against Sutherland’s definition is that it includes even
those violations of law which are not committed in course of occupation or profession and
these violations do not necessarily belong to the upper strata of society or the so-called
‘prestigious groups’. For example, Tax-evasion is not committed only by persons of high
status but it can be committed by persons belonging to middle or even lower strata of society.

Yet another objection against the definition is that it does not mandatorily require mens rea
which is an essential ingredient of a crime. The doctrine of mens rea based on common law
has no application to statutory offences in India and the requirement of guilty mind may be
excluded either expressly or by implication in such cases.

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ELEMENTS
The elements required to prove that a white-collar crime was committed are the following:

1. Intent: To commit a wrongful act or to achieve a purpose that is inconsistent with the
law or public safety with the intent that the purpose is achieved. This usually occurs
when the defendant acts or commits a behaviour with the knowledge that the act is
unlawful and can be publishable by law.

2. Disguise and Concealment: The hiding or concealing of the real purpose of the
crime. This usually occurs when the defendant hides or conceals his criminal violation
with the purpose of not getting caught.

3. Knowledge: For a defendant to be liable for a white-collar crime, the defendant must
have knowledge that he is committing the crime. This usually occurs when the
defendant knowingly and intentionally commits the act to gain a financial advantage.

4. Reliance: Reliance occurs when the victim or plaintiff relied on the defendant’s
fraudulent scheme or act.

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CLASSIFICATION OF WHITE COLLAR CRIMES
Theoretically, white collar crimes may be broadly classified into four major categories as
follows:-

1. Ad hoc crimes: they are also known as personal crimes as in this category of white
collar crimes, the offender pursues his own individual objective having no fact-to-face
contact with the victim. Computer hacking, credit-card frauds, tax-evasion etc. are the
most common forms of ad hoc crimes.
2. White collar crimes involving breach of trust or breach of faith bestowed by an
individual or institution on the perpetrator. Insider-trading, financial embezzlements,
misuse of funds, fictitious pay rolls etc. are common examples of this type of white
collar crimes.
3. Individuals occupying high position or status who commit crime incidental to, and in
furtherance of their organisational operations constitute this category of white collar
crime. People occupying high positions commit such crime, not because it is their
central purpose, but because they incidentally find an opportunity during the course of
their employment to earn quick-money or gain undue advantage by using their power
or influence. The recent example of such crimes are 2G Spectrum Scam, Coalgate
Scam, Commonwealth Games Scandal, Mumbai Adarsh Defence Society Scam, Bihar
Fodder Scam etc. Fraudulent medical bills, fake educational institutions, issuance of
fake marksheets/certificates etc also come under the ambit of this category of white
collar crimes.
4. White collar crimes may also be committed as a part of business itself. Violation of
trade marks or copyrights, Patent law or Competition Law etc. come under this
category of white collar crimes. The violation of domain name or other corporate
crimes are also white collar crimes of this type.

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CONTRIBUTING FACTORS
There are some factors or causes, which are responsible for occurrence of white collar crime ;
some are economical, social and political factors responsible for white collar crime. The other
problem is globalization and liberalization which are also responsible for white collar crime.
Some of them are as under: The changing socio-economic scenario of the society coupled
with increase in wealth and prosperity has furnished opportunities for such crimes. Of all the
factors the economic and industrial growth throughout the world has perhaps been the most
potential cause of increase in white-collar crimes in recent years.

Remarking on the growing incidence of white collar crime in India, the Law commission in
its 29th Report observed that modern scientific and technological developments and
exploitative trends in business world have led to massive increase in white collar crimes.

The post-independence period in India steered an era of welfare activities which necessitated
regulatory measures on the part of government to control means of production and
distribution so as to serve the common good. The flouting of such regulatory measures
generally gives rise to white collar criminality.

Marshal B. Clinard asserted that the problem of white collar criminality has its root in
competitive business community, which tries to oust their rival competitors in order to earn
huge profits. Sometimes, such crimes may also be committed merely for the sake of existing
in the competitive business. To demonstrate, though there is a prescribed code of ethics for
the practicing lawyers but since the very nature of their profession involves the spirit of
combat and competition, they often resort unlawful tactics such as concealment or
misrepresentation of facts, which if detected, is punishable under the law.

To take another example, the private educational institutions in India, which receive public-
aid or grants, furnish false account simply for the sake of retaining their existence. Likewise,
the members of industrial and business class who enjoy high status in the society may also
suppress their real profits by furnishing false and fabricated accounts of their income and
property in order to claim tax exemption or avoid payment of heavy taxes.

One more reason for the multiplicity of white-collar crime is relatively high socio-economic
status of white-collar criminals. They belong to an influential group, which is powerful
enough to handle their occupation tactfully, and person affected thereby hardly know that

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they are being victimized. Moreover, the public in general is also somewhat apathetic to such
crimes thus causing obstruction in prosecution and punishment of white-collar criminals.

It is often alleged that criminal law administrators and Judges being members of upper strata
of the society, are generally sympathetic toward white-collar criminal while dealing with
them. But there seems no jurisdiction in this assertion. If this allegation is based on the large
number of acquittals of white Judges for those criminals, it may be pointed out that it is not
because of demarcation between criminality and immorality involved in white collar crimes.

The recent developments in information technology, particularly during the closing years of
the 20th century, have added new dimensions to white-collar criminality. There has been
unprecedented growth of new variety of computer dominated white collar crimes, which are
commonly called as cyber-crimes. These crimes have become a matter of global concern and
a challenge for the law enforcement agencies in the new millennium. Because of the specific
nature of these crimes, they can be committed anonymously and far away from the victim
without physical presence. Further, cyber criminals have a major advantage: they can use
computer technology to inflict damage without risk of being apprehended of caught. It has
been predicted that there would be simultaneous increase in cyber crimes with the increase in
new internet web sites. The areas affected by cyber crimes are banking and financial
institutions, energy and telecommunication services, transportation, business etc.

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TYPES OF WHITE COLLAR CRIMES

1. BRIBERY:
Bribery is the act of giving or receiving something of value in exchange for some
kind of influence or action in return, that the recipient would otherwise not alter.
Bribery is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving,
or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or other
person in charge of a public or legal duty.
Essentially, bribery is offering to do something for someone for the expressed
purpose of receiving something in exchange. Gifts of money or other items of value
which are otherwise available to everyone on an equivalent basis, and not for
dishonest purposes, is not bribery. Offering a discount or a refund to all purchasers is
a legal rebate and is not bribery. For example, it is legal for an employee of a Public
Utilities Commission involved in electric rate regulation to accept a rebate on electric
service that reduces their cost for electricity, when the rebate is available to other
residential electric customers. Giving the rebate to influence them to look favourably
on the electric utility's rate increase applications, however, would be considered
bribery.

2. FRAUD:
The broad legal definition of fraud is the intentional deception of another for personal
gain. A person who defrauds another deprives the victim of his or her money or
property for personal gain or use. This may be done by suppressing the truth, lying
outright, making false promises, implying untruths or any other action carried out
with the intention of defrauding.

Fraud is most often considered to be a white collar crime because of its ties to
finances and the business community. It is also a form of theft, but is a non-violent
theft crime involving theft by deception rather than through force or violence.

3. FORGERY:
The crime of forgery generally refers to the making of a fake document, the
modification of an existing document, or the unauthorized signing of a signature
without authorization.

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 Forgery involves a false document, signature, or other imitation of an object of value
used with the intent to deceive another. Those who commit forgery are often charged
with the crime of fraud. Documents that can be the object of forgery
include contracts, identification cards, and legal certificates. Most states require that
forgery be done with the intent to commit fraud or larceny.
The most common form of forgery is signing someone else's name to a check.
Objects, data and documents can also be forged. Legal contracts, historical papers, art
objects, diplomas, licenses, certificates and identification cards can be forged.
Currency and consumer goods can also be forged, but this crime is usually referred to
as counterfeiting.

4. TAX EVASION:
There are two aspects of not paying taxes when they are due. The first is tax
avoidance and the other tax evasion. The difference between the two is that tax
avoidance is basically finding a loophole that exempts you from paying taxes and is
not strictly illegal, while evasion is not paying the taxes when they are actually due,
which is absolutely illegal. These are some of the ways in which people may
avoid/evade taxes.

 Failing to pay the due:

This is the simplest way in which someone may evade taxes. They simply won't pay
it to the government, not even when the dues are called for. A person engaged in this
sort of tax evasion won't, willingly or unwillingly, pay the tax before or after the due
date.

 Smuggling:
When certain goods move from one location to another, across international or state
borders, a tax or charge may be payable in order to move the goods. However, some
individuals may move these goods in surreptitious ways in order to avoid paying
those taxes that evading the tax altogether.

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  Submitting false tax returns:
In some cases, when an individual files taxes, they may submit false or incorrect
information in order to either lessen the tax that they are supposed to pay or not pay it
at all. This is also tax evasion since the complete information is not provided and
they may actually be paying less than what they should.

 Inaccurate financial statements:

The taxes that are payable by an individual or an organisation may be decided on the
financial dealing that have taken place during the assessment year. If false financial
documents or accounts books are submitted, ones that show incomes less than what
was actually earned, the tax may come down.

 Using fake documents to claim exemption:

The government may have provided certain exemptions and privileges to certain
strata or members of society in order to ensure they have a bit more financial freedom
to progress. In some cases, members who actually don't qualify for such privileges
will get documents created to support their claim of being a part of that group thus
claiming exemptions where they are not suited.

 Not reporting income:

It could be said that this is one of the most common methods of tax evasion. In this
case, individual just won't report any income that they receive during a financial year.
Not having reported any income, they don't pay any tax thus successfully evading tax
all together. The simplest example of this would be a landlord who has kept tenants
but has not informed the authorities that he has rented the house and is actually
receiving an income from it.

 Storing wealth outside the country:

We have all heard tales of Swiss bank accounts. Offshore accounts are accounts
maintained outside the country and information about the dealing in these accounts is
not disclosed to the income tax department thereby evading any and all taxes due on
that wealth.

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5. EXTORTION:
Extortion is the criminal act of threatening violence, harm to reputation, property
damage or government action to another in order to obtain property, money or an
official act. Blackmail is a form of extortion which involves the threat of exposing
compromising information about the victim and/or his or her family. Extortion does
not involve an imminent physical threat of violence, such as the use of a gun to force
someone to give the offender money, but rather the threat or implication of harm if
the victim does not comply. Even if the threatened act itself is not illegal, it may still
be considered extortion. An example of this may be a person who threatens to tell a
cheating judge's wife of his conduct if he does not render a specific verdict or
sentence in a case.

Another element of extortion may be a public officer who acts under color of official
right. This means that the officer accepts, requests or demands a fee, pretending to act
in his or her official capacity, but in reality taking the fee for personal gain. The
victim may consent to payment, but only does so because he or she is yielding to the
officer's position of authority.

Attempting to commit extortion and actually committing extortion may both be

considered criminal offenses. Depending upon the particular charges and where the
crime was committed, this may be a misdemeanor or felony offense, resulting in
imprisonment, fines and more.

6. INSIDER TRADING:
Insider trading is defined as a malpractice wherein trade of a company's securities is
undertaken by people who by virtue of their work have access to the otherwise non
public information which can be crucial for making investment decisions.

When insiders, e.g. key employees or executives who have access to the strategic
information about the company, use the same for trading in the company's stocks or
securities, it is called insider trading and is highly discouraged by the Securities and

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 Exchange Board of India to promote fair trading in the market for the benefit of the
common investor.

Insider trading is an unfair practice, wherein the other stock holders are at a great
disadvantage due to lack of important insider non-public information. However, in
certain cases if the information has been made public, in a way that all concerned
investors have access to it, that will not be a case of illegal insider trading.

7. MONEY LAUNDERING:
Money laundering is the process of taking money which was illegally obtained and
disguising its source in order to make it appear as though it was earned legitimately.
Although most often associated with organized crime, such as international drug
trafficking organizations, money laundering can occur in the business or financial
world as well. The money laundering process is complex and requires a number of
financial transactions or other actions which will hide the paper trail and make
illegally obtained money appear legit.
Money laundering is essential for criminal organizations who wish to use illegally
earned money effectively. Dealing in large amounts of illegal cash is inefficient and
dangerous. The criminals need a way to deposit the money in financial institutions,
yet they can only do so if the money appears to come from legitimate sources.
There are three steps involved in the process of laundering money: placement,
layering and integration. Placement refers to the act of introducing "dirty money"
(money obtained through illegitimate, criminal means) into the financial system in
some way. Layering is the act of concealing the source of that money by way of a
series of complex transactions and bookkeeping tricks. Integration refers to the act of
acquiring that money in purportedly legitimate means.

8. EMBEZZLEMENT:
Embezzlement is a form of white-collar crime wherein a person or entity
misappropriates the assets entrusted to him or her. In this type of fraud, the assets are
attained lawfully and the embezzler has the right to possess them, but the assets are
then used for unintended purposes. Embezzlement is a breach of the fiduciary
responsibilities placed upon a person.

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The nature of embezzlement can be both small and large. Embezzling funds can be as
minor as a store clerk pocketing a few bucks from a cash register; however, on a
grander scale, embezzlement also occurs when the executives of large companies
falsely expense millions of dollars, transferring the funds into personal accounts.
Depending on the scale of the crime, embezzlement may be punishable by large fines
and time in jail.

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IMPACT OF WHITE COLLAR CRIMES
'Socio-economic offences' are the manifestation of criminal acts done either solely or in an
organized manner with or without associates/gangs with an intent to earn wealth through
illegal means, and carry out illicit activities violating the laws of land, other regulatory,
statutory provisions governing the economic activities of the Government and its
administration. In such crimes, individual person is not the victim, instead it is the State or
society as a whole which suffers economic loss due to such activity.

Such offences cause significant damage to the general economy of the country
adversely affecting the growth and development of the nation. Some of the major impacts
that may be caused by the socio-economic offences illustratively are :

(i) Increase in inflationary pressure.

(ii) Uneven distribution of resources and creation of elitism.

(iii) Marginalisation of tax base.

(iv) Generation of abundant black money.

(v) Creation of a 'parallel' economy.

(vi) Development works/efforts are undermined.

(vii) Country's economic equilibrium is at stake.

(viii) Breeding ground of corruption.

(ix) Illicit business and public office corruption thrive and affect normal business activities.

(x) Resources of financial institutions and commercial institutions are diverted and distorted.

(xi) Weakens morale and commitment of the citizens and promote social disorganization.

(xii) The poor/weakest continue to be poorer and are at risk.

The impact of white-collar crime on corporate India has been significant. Today, fraudsters
are motivated by greed and financial gain more than ever before, exhibiting deviant and
exploitative behaviour. Some of the new trends seen include:

• Average age of fraudsters is getting lower.

• Increasing cases of fraud or other wrongdoings being detected by whistle-blowers.

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• Proliferation of technology to evade detection, e.g., using instant messengers and social
media networks instead of emails.

• Innovative modes of kickbacks and favours obtained.

It has been seen that the typical perpetrators of white-collar crime do not have a prior
criminal record and believe that their act will go undetected because they are not being
observed. They also do not consider themselves culprits, tend to continue the misdemeanours
until detected. Typology also suggested that these are typically committed by individuals in
positions of trust.

Thus, it can be said that White collar criminality has become a global phenomenon with the
advance of commerce and technology. Like any other country, India is equally in the grip of
white collar criminality. The recent developments in information technology, particularly
during the closing years of the twentieth century, have added new dimensions to white collar
criminality. There has been unprecedented growth of a new variety of computer dominated
white collar crimes which are commonly called as cyber crimes. These crimes have become a
matter of global concern and a challenge for the law enforcement agencies in the new
millennium. Because of the specific nature of these crimes, they can be committed
anonymously and far away from the victims without physical presence. Further, cyber-
criminals have a major advantage: they can use computer technology to inflict damage
without the risk of being apprehended or caught. It has been predicted that there would be
simultaneous increase in cyber crimes with the increase in new internet web sites. The areas
affected by cyber crimes are banking and financial institutions, energy and
telecommunication services, transportation, business, industries etc. in India

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REMEDIAL MEASURES:
In a country like India where large scale starvation, mass illiteracy and ignorance affect the
life of the people white collar crimes are bound to multiply in large proportion. Control of
these crimes is a crucial problem for the criminal justice administration in this country.

Prof. Paranjape has outlined some of the remedial measures for combating white – collat
criminality, which are listed below:

1) Creating public awareness against these crimes through the media of press, and other
audio-visual aids and legal literacy programmes.

2) Special Tribunals should be constituted with power to award sentence of imprisonment

upto 5 years for white - collar crimes.

3) Stringent regulatory laws and drastic punishment for white- collar criminals may help in
reducing these crimes.

4) A separate chapter on white - collar crimes should be incorporated in the Indian Penal
Code by amending the Code, so that white - collar criminals who are convicted by the court
do not escape punishment because of their high social status.

5) Convictions should result in heavy fines rather than arrest and detention of white - collar
criminals.

6) There is an urgent need for National Crime Commission which may squarely tackle the
problem of crime and criminality in all its facets.

7) Lastly, public vigilance seems to be corner-stone of anti-white collar crime strategy.

Unless people strongly detest such crimes, it will not be possible to contain this growing
menace.

There is need for strengthening of morals particularly in the higher strata and among
the public services. It is further necessary to evolve sound group norms and service ethics
based on the concepts of absolute honesty and integrity for the sake of national welfare. This
is possible through character building at grass-root level and inculcating feeling of real
concern for the motherland among youngsters so that they are prepared for an upright living
when they enter real life.

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 On the basis of the recommendations of Santhanam Committee, some of the relevant
laws were amended (on the lines of retaining the jurisdiction of ordinary criminal courts but
doing away with some of the cumbersome provisions of criminal law in the context of white -
collar crimes). Thus, greater powers are conferred on the investigating officers and on the
magistracy, and summary trials now also possible for some of the offences (e.g. in
enactments like Anti-corruption laws (Amendment) Act, 1964; Foreign Exchange
(Amendment) Act, 1964; Prevention of Food Adulteration (Amendment) Act, 1964, etc.).
The laws have also been made less favourable to the accused person by incorporating certain
presumptions against them under certain circumstances. Under Sec. 4 of the Prevention of
Corruption Act, there is a presumption that money received other than legal remuneration by
a public servant is an illegal gratification.

Regarding 'Measures to check and control the criminalisation of politics', there is no

dearth of laws to prevent criminals from entering politics. No law can prevent or solve
declining standards of honesty and integrity in the society. A change in the political
environment is called for so that people with greater integrity, social commitment and
genuine patriotism could come. The public has to be less forgiving, more unsparing in its
choice of politicians; the press, more adversarial, less willing. Depoliticising the bureaucracy
and the police is another important step which should be taken.

In 1993, the Government of India appointed a committee under the chairmanship of

N.N. Vohra, Cabinet Secretary, "to take stock of all available information about the crime
syndicates/mafia organisations which had developed links with and were being protected by
government functionaries and political personalities.". The Vohra Committee Report while
acknowledging the existence of a nexus between the politicians and the dons of the criminal
world, has spelt out the writing on the wall, saying that "Mafias" are virtually running a
parallel government pushing the State apparatus into irrelevance. The Committee said that a
nodal agency, headed by a serving bureaucrat. to be established to check/break the criminal-
politician nexus.

In Dinesh Trivedi v. Union of India 1(1997) 4 SCC 306, the Supreme Court (in connection
with the Report of Vohra Committee) observed: "In view of the seriousness of the charges
involved and the clout wielded by those who are likely to become the focus of investigation,
it is necessary that the body which is entrusted with the task of following the investigation

1
(1997) 4 SCC 306.

17
through to the stage of prosecution, be such that it is capable of enjoying the complete trust
and confidence of the people. An institution like the Ombudsman/ Lokpal could command
such confidence and respect. Till its creation, a high- level committee be appointed by the
President in consultation with the Prime Minister and Speaker of the Lok Sabha. The
committee shall monitor investigations involving the kind of nexus referred to in the Vohra
Committee Report.

The government of India has also introduced various regulatory legislations, the breach of
which will amount to white-collar criminality. Some of these legislations are Essential
Commodities Act 1955, the Industrial (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951, The Import
and Exports (Control) Act, 1947, the Foreign Exchange (Regulation) Act, 1974, Companies
Act, 1956, Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

The Indian Penal Code contains provisions to check crimes such as Bank Fraud, Insurance
fraud, credit card fraud etc. In case of money laundering several steps have been taken by the
government of India to tackle this problem. The Reserve Bank of India has issued directions
to be strictly followed by the banks under KYC (Know Your Customer) guidelines. The
banks and financial institutions are required to maintain the records of transactions for a
period of ten years.

In order to tackle with computer-related crimes, Information Technology Act, 2000 has been
enacted to provide legal recognition to the authentication of information exchanged in respect
of commercial transactions.

Section 43 and 44 of Information Technology Act prescribes the penalty for the following
offences:

 Unauthorised copying of an extract from any data.

 Unauthorised access and downloading files.

 Introduction of viruses or malicious programmes.

 Damage to computer system or computer network.

 Denial of access to an authorised person to a computer system.

 Providing assistance to any person to facilitate unauthorised access to a computer.

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Though the focus of Information Technology Act is not on cybercrime as such, this Act has
certain provisions that deal with white collar crimes. Chapter XI deals with the offence of
cyber crime and chapter IX deals with penalties and adjudication of crime. Apart from this,
many issues are unresolved due to lack of focus. Some of them are:

 Inapplicability

 Qualification for appointment as adjudicating officer not prescribed

 Definition of hacking

 No steps to curb internet piracy

 Lack of international cooperation

 Power of police to enter and search limited to public places

 Absence of guidelines for investigation of cyber crime

There are some measures to deal with white-collar crimes. Some of them are, creating public
awareness of crimes through media or press and other audio-visual aids and legal literacy
programmes. Special tribunals should be constituted with power to sentence the offenders for
at least 5 years and conviction should result in heavy fines rather than arrest and detention of
criminals. Unless the people will strongly detest such crimes, it is not possible to control this
growing menace.

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CONCLUSION:
The indirect effects of white-collar crime that transforms all over India into victims, need to
be emphasized in order to encourage greater public mobilization aimed at influencing
government thinking on these less visible, “victimless” forms of criminality. In this the
media, who play a role in defining and therefore moulding the crime problem, can influence
public opinion on white-collar crime. While some believe that white collar crimes in general
receive little or no attention in the news because the media is owned by big business, the
relative neglect of reporting on business crime should rather be explained by the invisible
nature of the crime and the difficulty in presenting it in the human terms common to the mass
media and its audiences, than by any elite conspiracy to suppress it. The media is challenged
to play an important role in raising public awareness of this issue by, for instance, pointing
out the increasing costs due to white collar crimes, which remain hidden in the extra prices of
goods and services passed onto the consumer, and challenging the public at large to take
preventive steps. While conventional wisdom suggests that the public is indifferent to white
collar crime and may even sympathize with the offenders when they are caught, it is argued
that more knowledge about such crimes and their harmful consequences will lead to their
condemnation. It is true that many Indian citizens do not realize that they are victimized by
price-fixing or restraint of trade and under these circumstances the public can hardly be
expected to react to such behaviour. Opinion polls abroad, however, indicate a great deal of
resentment about crimes perpetrated by those in positions of trust and responsibility, with
strong condemnation of organizationally deviant actions, especially when the behaviour
causes illness, injury or death.

Future control trends for white-collar crime thus point towards increasing the visibility of
fraudulent activities, raising the consciousness of those not party to such actions, of the
institutions, enhancing inter-agency co-operation both domestically and abroad, and
improving the capacity of policing agencies and the courts to cope with investigation and
trials.

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