M.D.

U CENTER FOR PROFESSIONAL AND ALIED

STUDIES
GURUGRAM

SUBJECT - CRIMINOLOGY

TOPIC – WHITE COLLAR CRIME

CLASS - LLB 2ND YEAR (4 SEM)

ROLL NO. – 912

SUBMITTED BY - AJIT SINGH

CR (M.D.U STUDENT UNION)

SUBMITTED TO – DR. NARESH YADAV

PROFESSOR (M.D.U.C PAS)

CONTENT

1. DEFINITION
 SUTHERLAND DEFINITION
 CRITICISM OF SUTHERLAND’S VIEWS ON WHTIE
COLLAR CRIME
 REASONS FOR THESE CRIME DON’T ATTARCT
ATTENTION
 SIR WALTER RECKLESS
 AUTHORITIES VIEW
 BARENES & TEALERS QOUTES IN LORD ACTON

2. REASONS FOR PUBLIC INSENSEBILITY

3. CLASSIFICATIN OF WHITE COLLAR CRIME
4. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS OF WHITE COLLAR CRIME
5. WHITE COLLAR CRIME IN INDIA
6. REMEDIAL MEASURES FOR WHITE COLLAR CRIME

DEFINITION:

Sutherland Definition:

Crime committed by persons of respectability and high social status in

course of their occupation.

White collar criminal belong to upper socio-economic class and violate law
in course of their profession.
For e.g.
 Misrepresentation through fraudulent advertisements.
 Infringement of patent, copyrights, trade-marks.
 Publication of fabricated balance sheets and profit and loss
account of business.
 Passing of goods
 Concealment of defects in the commodity for sale.
No effective program for the enforcement of criminal law against them.
Influential person involved in such offences are able to escape from law.
 Criticism of Sutherland’s view on white collar crime

1. He had a controversial view on persons of respectability and status as

in his definition there is lack of definite criteria for determining.
2. High social status leads to confusion and white collar crime has far
narrower meaning there is given to that term in everyday usage.
3. Sutherland included thefts and frauds which are committed by
middle or even lower middle- class workers in course of their
employment or work as such crimes are called occupational crime.
4. As important element the socio-economic status of the individual not
included but type of crime and its circumstances of its commission
are. Usually include pilfering, false accounting, bribery,
embezzlement etc.
5. Tax evasion is not a white collar crime although associated with work
still not committed in course of an occupation.
6. Tappan’s view-
 White collar crime cannot be treated as criminal as it means
deviating from legal definition of crime.
 In as much as personal value consideration of the
administrator would gain primary in place of precision.
 Legal clarity in deciding such cases are not there.
Although Sutherland has stated a way in which such proceeding that it will
protect offender from the stigma of criminal prosecution.
7. Under Sutherland’s definition white collar crime includes-
 Violation of laws which are not committed in course of
occupation or profession.
 Such violations do not necessarily belong to upper strata of
society or the so called prestigious group. E.g.
Tax evasion
Can be done by lower or middle strata people.
8. Doctrine of Mens Rea-
 No application to statutory offences in India.
 The requirement of guilty mind may be excluded
Either-
Expressly
Or by implication
In such cases.
Reasons for these crimes don’t attract much attention:-
 The injury or damage caused as a result of white collar crime is so
widely diffused in the large body of society.
 There gravity in regard to individual victim is almost negligible.
 Court usually relys on the principle of caveat- emptor in-
Misrepresentation
Concealment
Fraud etc.

Sir Walter Reckless:

White collar crime-
 Offence of businessmen
 Businessmen in a position to determine the policies and activities of
business.

Authorities’ view-
White collar crime is committed by persons of status not for need but for
greed.

Barnes & Tellers quoted in Lord Acton-

Power tends to corrupt & absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely.

REASONS FOR PUBLIC INSENSEBILITY:

1. Criminals operate within-
 The strict letter of the law
 Exploit the credibility of their victims.
2. Legal battles involved are dragged out for years in the courts
resulting into gravity of the offence is completely lost in the oblivion.
3. The number of community themselves contribute in such crime- at
some time
 Willingly
 Un-willingly
For example-
 Illegal gratification
 To public servant
 To get the work done quickly
 Black marketing in times of scarcity
  Evasive price violations
 Rent- ceiling violations etc.

Victims are themselves to be blamed for involvement.

Such white collar crimes cannot be committed unless there is a demand for
illegal favor-
 From consumer-
They are actively involved in the deal.

CLASSIFICATIN OF WHITE COLLAR CRIME

4 major theories-
1. Ad hoc crimes-
 Personal crime
 Offender pursues his own individual objective having no face to
face contact with the victim.
 E.g.-
Hacking on computers
Credit card frauds
Tax evasion etc.
2. Breach of trust or breach of faith on the perpetrator bestowed by an
individual or institution.
e.g.-
Insider trading
Financial embezzlements
Misuse of funds
Fictitious pay rolls etc.
3. Individuals occupying high positions or status-
 Who commit crime incidental to &
 In furtherance of their organizational operations
People occupying high positions commit such crime.
Incidentally finds opportunity during the course of their employment –
to earn-
 Quick money or
 Gain under advantages
Above by using their power or influence.
Recent e.g. –
 2G spectrum scam
 Coalgate scam
  Commonwealth games scandal
 Bihar fodder scam etc.

Further-
 Fraudulent medical bill claims
 Fake educational institutions
 Issuance of fake mark- sheets / certificates etc.
Also covered under this category of white collar crime.
4. White collar crime also committed as a part of business itself.
e.g.-
Violation of
 Trade marks
 Copyrights
 Patent law
 Competition law
 The violation of domain name
 Other corporate crimes

CONTRIBUTING FACTORS OF WHITE COLLAR CRIME

1. Changing socio- economic scenario
 Increase in wealth and prosperity has furnished opportunities
for such crimes.
th
2. 29 report of law commission-
 Modern scientific
 Technological development
 Monopolistic trends
In business world have led to enormous increase in white collar crime.
3. Marshal B. Clinard-
 White collar crime has its root in competitive business
community which tries to oust their rival competitors in order
to earn huge profits.
 Crimes may also be committed merely for the sake of retaining
existence in the competitive business.
4. Private educational institutions in India receive public-aid or grants.
They furnish false accounts simply for the sake of retaining their
existence.
5. Members of industrial & business class who enjoy high status in
society. Have tendency to suppress their real profits by furnishing
false & fabricating accounts of their income and property. In order
to claim tax –exemptions or avoid payment of heavy taxes.
6. High socio-economic status of white collar crime.
 They belong to an influential group powerful enough to handle their
occupation tactfully and persons affected thereby hardly know that
they are being victimized.
7. There is large no. of acquittals of white collar crime. This is due to
the thin line of demarcation between criminality and immorality
involved in white collar crimes.
8. There has been unprecedented growth of a new variety of computer
dominated white collar crime which is commonly called as cyber
crimes.

WHITE COLLAR CRIME IN INDIA

1. The fast developing economy, industrial growth.
2. Santhanam committee report-
Vivid picture of white collar crime committed by persons of
respectability such as businessmen, industrialists, contractors,
supplier, corrupt public officials.

Prevention of corruption-
Broadly classified white collar & social- economic crimes into eight
categories.

Law commission-
Such offences are better left to be dealt with by special & self-
contained enactment which supplements the basic criminal law.

Vivin bosa commission of inquiry-

Inquire the case of Dalmia-Jain group of companies in 1963.
Highlight-
 Big industries indulge in white collar crime such as fraud,
falsification of accounts, tampering with records for personal
gains, tax evasion etc.
 Similar observation made by justice M.C.Chaga in mundhra
case.
3. Some of the major categories of white collar crimes-
 Hoarding
 Black-Marketing
 Adulteration
 Tax-evasion
 White collar crime in certain profession
 Medical profession
Engineering
Legal profession
Educational institutions
 White collar crimes in business deals.
 Fake employment placement rackets.

REMEDIAL MEASURES FOR WHITE COLLAR CRIME

1. Creating public awareness against these crimes by Intensive legal

literacy program.
2. Special tribunals for white collar crime with power to award sentence
of imprisonment up to 10yrs.
3. Stringent regulatory laws with drastic punishment, legislations with
retrospective operation. The penalty for white collar crime which are
a potential damage to human lives should extend to imprisonment for
life or even to death if circumstances so demand.
4. A separate chapter on white collar crimes and socio-economic crime
should be incorporated in the Indian penal code. This creates a strict
& severe manner of prosecution of such crimes.
5. Dealt with sternly by prescribing stiffer punishments. View the
gravity of injury caused to society because of such crime.
M.H.Haskot V. State of Maharashtra
Soft sentencing justice is gross injustice where many innocent are the
potential victims.
6. National crime commission may squarely tackle the problem of crime
and criminality in all its facets.
7. Strengthening of morals of higher strata and among the public
services. Further necessary to evolve sound group norms. Service
ethics based on the twin concepts of absolute honesty & integrity for
the sake of national welfare. Character building at grass-root level&
inculcating a sense of real concern for the nation among youngsters.
They can be prepared and trained for an upright living when they
enter the public life.