NCJ Number
160672
Date Published
1995
Length
24 pages
Annotation
Serious fraud cases in the United Kingdom are analyzed with respect to the complexities of criminal prosecution and regulatory agencies involved.
Abstract
Business crime causes far greater monetary damage than does conventional crime, but the government receives less pressure to act punitively than it does for conventional crime. This situation is the result of several factors. First, the globalization of financial services means that countries compete for investment; too much regulation or too little regulation puts a country at a competitive disadvantage. Second, special difficulties are encountered in reconstructing complex corporate dealings for any kind of court, whether criminal, civil, or administrative. This is particularly true for criminal courts, where cases must be reconstructed years after the offenses occurred, before judges and juries who lack expertise in the areas concerned, and with substantiation provided by witnesses who have professional reputations to maintain and therefore reconstruct cases in ways that do least damage to themselves. Third, influential segments of the public regard financial crimes committed by distinguished senior executives differently from those committed by unemployed youth or rogue capitalists. These complexities have complicated notorious fraud cases. As a result, criminal prosecution is not successful with many massive frauds and is not cost-effective even if convictions are obtained, although criminalization has a symbolic value. Notes