White Collar Crimes by Varun Singhal

Ans: Blue collar crimes are committed against human beings whereas Green collar crimes are committed against the environment and animals. 

Ans: Ponzi scam is also known as pyramid scam is a type of affinity scam in which the scammer would through emails and advertisements offer the people to earn huge profits only by investing a certain amount of money and they have to sit comfortably in their room. The scammers also give exciting offers like early bird offer that would be able to make more profits. After investing their money in such schemes,  people land up having nothing in their hand, as the scammer runs away with the money leaving behind and no clue of their existence so as to track them. The cases of ponzi scheme in India are as follow :  In November, 2018, Gaylen Rust of Utah was accused by the Government for running ponzi scheme and they generate huge wealth, like that if 25-40% per year,which is about 47 to 200 million of money. It was observed that more than 200 people had become a victim of this scheme.  In the same year,  when Gaylen ruth was found guilty, in the month of September, a person...

Ans:  Pump and Dump Scam: A company who owns a large amount in a low-priced stock, which is actually an illegitimate business, will target potential investors to persuade them to invest in the stock. As more people would invest, the price of the stock would enhance and when it arrives at its peak , the scammers would sell all the shares to achieve profit and run away, taking with him all your money. In 2015, when Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was said to have raised his wealth by purchasing 2,50,000 odd shares because of which the shares of the ‘Surana Solar’ experienced an 18% rise, but after the dump-sum scam was discovered, the prices were quashed. That is how a loophole in the system was also discovered.  The happening of such scams reveals that there is no proper system to check the authenticity of the information being supplied. After getting the benefit of such a  loophole, the Surana Solar made namesake deals easily with the investors that cause them great loss. 

Ans: Since there is no proper definition for white-collar crimes, yet governments must not neglect the socio-economic crimes which are known as white collar crimes.  Socio-economic offences are those that have an impact on the social and economic well-being of society.  White-collar crimes are crimes such as fraud, money laundering,  tax fraud , bribery, embezzlement, insider trading, and corruption. The IPC renders the punishment for certain economic offences such as criminal misappropriation, criminal breach of trust, receiving or dealing in stolen property, cheating, creating fraudulent deeds, concealment of property, forgery, falsification of accounts, sale of adulterated drugs , etc. Despite being peaceful, white collar crimes are significant offences with broad impacts. They have the potential to result in substantial financial losses, undermine public confidence in institutions, imbalance market competition, cause social inequality, and deteriorate economies.

Ans: Commonwealth Games is an international competition wherein the athletes from the Commonwealth Nations compete in several sports. It happens once a year & it is run by the Commonwealth Games Federation. Suresh Kalmadi, the Games’ planning committee chairman, performed this Commonwealth Games scam. He allegedly awarded the advantageous contract to the Swiss firm to install a TSR system for the Commonwealth Games at a very high cost, causing a loss of over ₹900 million to the exchequer as the Swiss Timings’ time equipment actually costs ₹95 crores and Suresh Kalmadi offered the contract of Rs 141 crore . The Central Vigilance Commission must be known about the CMW scam as well as the culprits were detained on charges of cheating, conspiracy, corruption, forging documents, etc. Hence, this is also a serious white-collar crime.

Ans: 2G Scam Case :  The 2G Scam included the fixed-price sale of 2G spectrum licences. Politicians and private personnel of the United Progressive Alliance coalition government in India (UPA) were allegedly associated in the sale or allocation of 122 2G spectrum licences, which sparked a political issue. Applicants who weren't even qualified received licences. It was an amalgamation of three cases, two registered by the CBI and one filed by the Enforcement Directorate. According to the CAG investigation, 2G licenses—or those for mobile networks' second generation—were distributed at irrelevant prices rather than through open and transparent bidding processes. A Raja was detained in 2011 on suspicion of cheating, falsification, and conspiracy but denied all charges, claiming that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had granted of this decision. India's CAG published a report on their criminal activity in 2010. Additionally, because the offence was so heinous, the charge sheet was...

Ans:  Punjab National Bank Fraud Case: Nirav Modi's name revealed in the Punjab National Bank Fraud case as the 85th richest person in India. A few of the bank's representatives, according to the bank, collaborated with Modi and the firms associated with him to get guarantees or letters of undertaking from other international banks to help finance buyers' credit for the purpose of buying and selling diamonds.  A Letter of Undertaking (LOU) is a bank guarantee given by one bank to another bank and was given on behalf of the customer for repayment of the loan. Mostly, the LOU is used when the person imports anything from a person, in another country. Two bank employees issued Letters of Understanding to these companies falsely and unlawfully. Credit was then given to these companies based on these Letters. PNB asserted that the funds allegedly raised for the purpose of purchasing and selling diamonds were not really used for that reason. PNB disclosed information to the stock...

Ans:   21 din mein paisa double” This sentence describes the scenario. The Saradha Chit fund case comprised a well-known financial fraud by an elite group that was also alleged to be a political scandal.  A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud that pays existing investors with funds collected from new investors .  A collection of 200 private firms known as Saradha collection launched a Ponzi scheme that failed as well as collective investment schemes (money pooling schemes) that were mistakenly referred to as chit funds and led to significant financial fraud. This group defrauded about 17 lakh depositors out of almost 30,000 crores by falsely promising them a very large quantity in return in the form of cash, real estate, or other valuables. Sudipta Sen, the managing director of Saradha Realty India, was prohibited by SEBI from the securities market until the company wound up all of the Collective Investment Schemes (CIS).

Ans:  From 1999 to 2001, Parekh engaged in stock manipulation and circular trading. To use the funds for the manipulation of numerous stocks, he borrowed money from financial institutions like Global Trust Bank and Madhavpura Mercantile Co-operative Bank. They were held responsible for manipulating the share prices of K-10, a group of ten companies. So far, the scam has cost over 1,250 crore. As a result, SEBI imposed a 14-year trading ban on Parekh and related companies. Even though he was only imprisoned for a year, he wasn't permitted to trade on the Indian stock market until 2017.

Ans: The founder and chairman of Satyam Computers Services Limited, B. Ramalingam Raju, committed the greatest corporate accounting fraud ever. He revealed this scam in a confession that was written and published in the Times of India in 2009. He acknowledged in the letter that he manipulated with his financial records by overstating assets and understating obligations. We are aware that a company's financial standing is determined by its books of accounts, and as investors rely on these books when considering an investment, it is apparent that Raju committed a crime by falsifying them in order to mislead shareholders and investors. Strong action was taken by SEBI in response to this incident in order to make sure that a similar scam never occurs again.

Ans: Harshad Mehta Securities Fraud (1988-1995).    Harshad Mehta was a stockbroker who established Grow More Research & Asset Management Limited which was a security company in 1990. Investors blindly followed Harshad Mehta as he was well-known  “Sultan of Dalal Street” of the Stock market.  Harshad Mehta took part in a large-scale scam to manipulate the stock market that was funded with worthless bank receipts. He raised the stock prices up to 40 times their original value using strategies such as signing phoney checks, abusing market flaws, and deception. In order to obtain fraudulently obtained unsecured loans from banks, the stock traders reaping excellent returns from this swindle.

Ans: Blue collar crimes are the crimes of people from a lower social class whereas white collar crimes are the crimes of people of higher social class. . There is use of threat in blue collar crimes whereas there is no threat or violence in white collar crimes. The examples of blue collar crimes are Armed Robbery, Sexual Assault, Burgalary, etc which are committed by low class like farmers, electricians, mechanics ,etc . The examples of white collar crimes are Wage theft, misappropriation, copyright infringement,  etc by high class like doctors, lawyers, etc. 

Ans: Red collar crime is an understudied phenomenon that occurs when white-collar crime turns into physical violence and/or death.

Ans: The difference between blue and white collar crimes is typically divided by social class. White collar crimes are usually committed by those in a higher social class, whereas blue collar crimes are usually committed by those in a lower social class. The examples of blue collar crimes are Burglary, Property Crimes, Theft Crimes, Sex Crimes, Assault and Drug Crimes.

Ans:  White collar crimes are becoming nowadays common in this day and age. White collar crimes are caused due to the following reasons  which are greed, lack of awareness among people, lack of strict rules as well as laws, lack of accountability,  peer support, loopholes of legal structure,  technological and industrial development, etc. Keywords used:  Peer support is when people use their own experiences to help each other.

Ans: As far as White Collar Crimes are concerned, India is a developing country and white collar crimes are becoming a major cause for its under development along with poverty, health, etc. The trend of white collar crimes in India poses a threat to the economic development of the country. These crimes require immediate intervention by the government by not only making strict laws but also ensuring its proper implementation.

Ans:  In 2014, the rank of India was 85th in white collar crime whereas as per the report of Economic Times, India was placed at 78th position in white collar crime.

Ans: The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is an index which ranks countries "by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as determined by expert assessments as well as opinion surveys.

Ans: In the cases of the report of Hitachi Payment Services in which around 3.2 million people suffered a loss because of the stealing of their card details from the YES Bank ATMs which were administered by Hitachi Payment Services. 

Ans: Some Laws against white collar crimes in India are as follows :  Companies Act, 2013, Income Tax Act, 1961, Indian Penal Code, 1860, Commodities Act, 1955, Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881 Prevention of money laundering Act, 2002 IT Act, 2005 Imports and Exports (Control) Act, 1950.

Ans:  The landmark white collar crime cases in India are Harshad Mehta Securities Fraud (1988- 1995), Satyam Scandal , Ketan Parekh Securities Scam, Sarada Chit Fund Case of 21 din mein paise double, Punjab National Bank Fraud Case of Nirav Modi , 2G Scam case, Common Wealth Games Scam Case, etc. 

Ans:  White Collar Crime in India :  The Serious Fraud Investigation Office ('SFIO') which is located at Delhi and it is an organisation established under the aegis of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs ('MCA')  with a view to investigation and prosecution of white-collar crimes. The SFIO was constituted in July 2003 by following the recommendations of the commitee called Naresh Chandra Committee. The CBI, which was established under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, is responsible for the investigation of complex crimes, comprising white-collar offences, typically in cases involving the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PCA) or the cases of public importance. According to the report of Business Standard on 22.11. 2016 , entitled "The Dynamics of government and White-collar Crime in India", stating that, over the past decade, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has found 6 533 corruption cases of registration and out of which 517 were on...

Ans:   White-collar crime is an illegal activity which was committed financial gain and it is non-violent but it is economically dangerous . There is no violence in white collar crimes.  The main purpose of white collar crimes are to obtain money and property and to avoid losing existing property or to gain a personal or commercial advantage.

Ans:   White-collar crimes are those crimes which are performed by people who work in offices. Those people generally wear shirts with white collars. This is a symbol of high status. Persons who work with their hands are sometimes known as "blue collar" workers. Most white-collar crimes are performed by persons in banking, business or government. Such crime involves bribery, embezzlement, fraud or money laundering. These white collar crimes are done along with their regular work. This term was given by Edwin Sutherland in 1939.

Ans: Since the world moving at a fast pace and due to the rate of development in technology as well as commerce, it’s fair to say that white collar cyber crimes are increasing.  Prior to the internet age, these crimes were committed outside the computer but now the white collar cyber crimes are occurring at a wide pace by the source of the internet as well as the internet world. Any crime which was committed on the Internet is referred to as Cybercrime, and when such cyber crime is non-violent and especially performed towards financial gain then it would become a White-collar cybercrime. 

BY VARUN KUMAR SINGHAL  Ans: Edwin Sutherland stated that white crime could harm society more than other normal offences because White-collar crime occurs under the table and there are not many witnesses when it happens mainly because of the financial losses that the public would happen in general. White-collar crimes can be traced back to the 15th century in the UK as well as later also in the US during the civil war which permitted large monopolies( the exclusive possession or control ) to take over which led to the enforcement of Anti-trust laws to safeguard the consumers as well as to permit the fair competition. The Indian antitrust law is governed by the Competition Act, 2002  . The Act prohibits any agreement between companies, individuals or associations that could make an adverse effect on competition. 

By Varun Kumar Singhal  Ans: The typical white-collar crimes could include wage theft, fraud, bribery,  Ponzi schemes( a ponzi scheme is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors with funds from more recent investors ) , insider trading (  Insider trading is the trading of a company's securities by individuals with access to confidential or material non-public information about the company. Taking advantage of this privileged access is considered a breach of the individual's fiduciary duty ),  labor racketeering (  Labour racketeering is illegally using unions or employee benefit plans for personal profit ) ,  embezzlement, cybercrime, copyright infringement, money laundering, identity theft, and forgery. White-collar crime overlaps with corporate crime or economic crime. 

Ans: The countries that are poor or developing are third world countries. These crimes are quite uncontrolled in third world countries due to the economy.  The White-collar employees i.e., higher government officials as well as businessmen play a crucial role in creating and enhancing economic crimes, viz corruption, embezzlement and fraud like Health Care Fraud, Corporate Fraud , Money Laundering, Securities and Commodities Fraud, Mortgage and Financial Instiution Fraud, Intellectual Property Theft/Piracy , etc in all over the world. According to the report of Brothwell,  2020 , India and China has reported the highest occurrence of economic crime , also known as white-collar crime, with South Africa ranking third in the group of countries comprising the highest reported economic crime in the world. 

Ans: The most influential criminologist of the 20th century and also a sociologist, Edwin Hardin Sutherland, for the first time in 1939, defined white collar crimes as “crimes committed by people who enjoy the high social status, great repute, and respectability in their occupation”. The five attributes of the given definition are: The characteristics that are inferred from above definition of Edwin Hardin Sutherland are as follows:  1. White collar crime is a criminal offence . 2. It is committed by the people who enjoy the social status in society, have great reputation in society and such people also have high respectability in their occupation.  

Ans: The most prestigious criminologist of the 20th century who was also a American sociologist, Edwin Hardin Sutherland, for the first time in 1939, defined about the white collar crimes as “crimes that are committed by people who enjoy the high social status, great repute, and respectability in their occupation”.  Edwin Hardin Sutherland was best known for best known for defining white-collar crime and differential association, a general theory of crime and delinquency.

Ans: The practitioners of evil, hoarders, the profiteers, the black marketeers, and speculators are the worst enemy of our society. They have to be dealt with sternly. However well placed important and influential they maybe, if we acquiesce in wrongdoing, people will lose faith in us.”                                                                    -Dr. S. Radhakrishnan 

Ans: A white-collar worker belongs or pertains to a class of employees who are known for earning higher average salaries by performing highly skilled work, but these employees do not perfor manual labor at their jobs. White-collar workers are those persons have been the "shirt and tie" set, which are defined by office jobs as well as management, and they do not get their hands dirty. In simple words, White collar workers are those workers who perform such jobs related to office work and other work that do not make the hands dirty like labour job.