NCJ Number
213355
Date Published
September 2005
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This paper highlights the forms of economic crime in Ghana and the problems it poses for the criminal justice system, as well as the strategies being used to address economic crime.
Abstract
Economic crime can be broadly defined as the range of offenses that occur in the course of economic transactions, or crimes that result in economic loss for the victims, which may be individuals, an institution, or a state. Ghana's Criminal Code encompasses several forms of economic crime, including fraud by false pretenses; stamp offenses; falsification of accounts; and fraud in the sale or mortgage of land, boundaries or documents, things pledged or taken in execution, removing goods to evade legal process, and actions by agents. These types of fraud are described as defined in Ghana's laws. Ghana also has laws that address money laundering, which is often linked to efforts to channel money obtained from fraud into legal financial transactions. The agencies responsible for preventing, detecting, and investigating fraud in Ghana are the police, the Serious Fraud Office, and the Securities Regulatory Commission. A person convicted of fraudulently misappropriating another person's money typically is imprisoned and fined in Ghana; however, fines are not used to compensate the victim; and even though heavy fines may be imposed, they often do not amount to as much as the loss. Thus, the offender still has the use of illegally obtained money after release from prison. As those who commit fraud become more sophisticated and deceptive in their tactics, it is important that the public and law enforcement investigators be informed and trained in detecting various types of fraud. Accounting skills have become essential in the detection and investigation of economic crime. Attorneys and judges must also gain a better understanding of some of the complex schemes often used to commit fraud.