Glossary term
White-Collar Crime
Subject: Financial Crime, Money Laundering, Typologies and Asset Recovery
Also known as: Economic crime, Business crime
White-collar crime covers dishonest, non-violent offences carried out for gain by people who use a business, professional or official position, usually through deception or breach of trust.
Explanation
Sociologist Edwin Sutherland introduced the label around 1939 for offences committed by respected people in the course of their work. It is an umbrella label rather than a single offence. It takes in fraud, bribery, embezzlement, insider trading, forgery, tax evasion and money laundering, among others. What links them is the setting and the method: the offender uses a job, a position of trust or specialist knowledge, and no force is used. Cases tend to be complex, rest on documents and electronic records, and take years to bring. The same conduct can bring both criminal and civil consequences, for the individual and for the organisation. Because the harm is spread thin and the offenders look respectable, such cases can seem less serious than a robbery, though the sums involved are often far larger.
Example
A finance director at a mid-sized company approves payments to a supplier that is secretly owned by her brother. Over three years, 2 million is paid for services never delivered. Internal audit finds the pattern while testing payment approvals, and the board refers the matter to the police and tells the external auditors.
Not to be confused with
- Organised Crime
- Organised crime is defined by group structure and often violence or illicit markets. White-collar crime is defined by the offender's position and the non-violent method.