IJNRD2404422
IJNRD2404422
ORG
Students at NMIMS
Abstract
This research paper provides a detailed analysis of white-collar crimes in India, focusing on the increasing impact
of such crimes on the country's economic well-being. The
study delves into the abstractions of white-collar crime, which involves a wide range of illicit activities
perpetrated by individuals holding esteemed positions in the society. The paper examines the factors contributing
in the rise of white-collar crimes, including the influence of economic and industrial growth, technological
advancements, and regulatory laws. Furthermore, it discusses the enforcement measures and governance reforms
aimed at mitigating white collar crimes in India. The research draws on various sources, including academic
articles, legal commentaries, and real-life case studies, to offer a thorough understanding of landscape of white
collar crimes in the Indian context.
This abstract is based on the analysis of multiple sources, including academic papers and legal commentaries, to
provide a comprehensive overview of the topic.
Keywords:
White Collar Crime Deception Conventional Crimes
Transnational Economic Offence Corruption
Illicit Activities
Money laundering
Corporate scams
Embezzlement
Introduction
The effect of white collar crime has been experienced by developed and developing economies alike, similar to a
global epidemic. The world’s largest democracy making its way to become an economic powerhouse, the
progress of India has been hindered by this endemic white collar criminality. Committed by respectable business
leaders, white collar crimes fall under financial crimes unlike street crimes that involve violence (Sutherland
1939). From money laundering, high level bribery, food adulteration, white collar illegality grapples the massive
economic and social costs in India.
Not only considering the financial loss but also how a widespread of this corrodes public trust, exceeds
conventional crime damages, widen inequalities and imperil the ethical foundations of a pluralistic nation. This
crime wave in India is typically fanned by greed and institutional weakness, but weak hindrance and moral
ambiguities surrounding elite deviance also share blame. With growing digitisation, the risk by opening new
avenues for transnational offences also amplify. On one hand being viewed as an oasis of opportunity and
advancement, ironically, 21st century India finds itself flooded with white collar atrocities.
This research paper maps India’s tumultuous white collar crime landscape, where conspicuous offences plague
the world’s largest democracy amid transformational growing pains. Analysing major examples, consequences,
the reason behind this and policy responses that sketches a path towards curbing this corruption pandemic without
extinguishing India’s development engine. While mordernity might worsen the level of white collar crimes
experienced, can always be counterbalanced by stronger integrity institutions, transparency reforms, technological
safeguards, and renewed ethical dialog permeating professions and public consciousness alike. With human
development and economic progress at stake , India must prevail the scourge of white collar crimes to escort in a
new era of impartial growth benefiting all.
iterature Review
White-collar crimes can be categorised as acts that are committed to find loopholes in the financial system
ranging from corporate fraud, embezzlement of funds to tax evasions. These crimes not only lead to monetary loss
but forms a bend in the market integrity of financial institutions. With increased modernisation and technological
advances which opens up an array of opportunities to exploit the existing laws and get away with such crime, the
legal framework has to be updated time and again to avoid undermining of the pertinent laws, which is being
talked about in Ms.Sonal Garg & Ms.Nivedita Singh (2022) where they enlisted different committees set up in
India along the years to combat such situation some of them being ‘commission of inquiry on administrative of
Dalmiaa Jain companies, 1963’ , ‘report on LIC Mundra affairs’ , ‘Dass commission report’ etc. their study also
talks about the effect of white collar crimes on the company along with employees, customers, and society as a
whole while also including the different legal repercussions the person has to face when they violate different
aspects like fraud, false statements, furnishing false evidence etc. When accusing a person of a crime it is
important to have the accurate understudy of their actions which is why it is important to be aware of the
differences between WHITE vs BLUE collar crime, as explained in Jatin Gehlot (2023) which states that the stark
difference lies in the variety of illicit activities the said person engages in, white collars include a complex fraud
scheme carried out by people in position while blue collar are quite straightforward like break ins and robberies.
The provided extract outlines the historical advancement and categories of white-collar crimes, emphasizing their
The article talks about the detrimental impact of white-collar crimes on the Indian economy highlighting social
repercussions such as financial losses and negative effects on businesses and society. The determinants of
increasing white-collar crimes are outlined, and the importance of government intervention and collaboration with
the private sector is stressed. It concludes that white-collar crimes have impeded India's economic development,
suggesting legislative and collaborative measures to address the issue.
Research Methodology
In a survey in 2020, the Indian National Bar Association in its report sighted that the Central Bureau Of
Investigation (CBI) found a total of 6533 cases of corruption from 2009 to 2019. The CBI in it’s report records
517 cases alone in the last 2 years. Greed, lack of awareness among people, lack of strict laws and people’s
adherence to them, lack of accountability, loopholes in the legal structure are some amongst the many reasons that
have caused the increase in White Collar Crimes in India. Fraud, Embezzlement, Money Laundering, Insider
Trading, Tax Evasion, Counterfeiting Currency and Cybercrimes are amongst the leading white collar crimes in
the country. This paper aims to analyze the prevalence of such crimes in the country as well as the trends in recent
years. It will evaluate the effectiveness of the existing legal framework and suggest reforms and new policies to
combat such problems in the country. This paper with aid of secondary data, existing case studies and after
reviewing existing academic literature, legal documents and reports will try to gain insights into their perspectives
and experiences.
Document Analysis
Despite being persuasive in nature and having a substantial impact on the society, white collar crimes has always
received limited attention with respect to other criminal offenses. This lack of public awareness can be attributes
to various factors including its complex nature and overall technicalities included in the crimes, which are not
easily understood by the general public.
To understand white collar crimes in india a bit more we will explain a few which occurred in india-
Harshad Mehta securities fraud-
This fraud revolves around how Harshad Mehta took huge amount of loans from the banks and purchased the
scrips at high prices creating a false market. This resulted in unnatural pumping of money in the market and led to
a rise in price of these shares. The illegality came into question when he used this misappropriated money as a
capital in the stock market which falls under purview of money laundering.
Satyam scandal-
This scandal was all a play of manipulating books of account by overstating assets and understating liabilities.
These books were seemingly manipulated to mislead the investors and shareholders. This scandal was said to be
an important factor in the recession of 2009, which fell under accounts of insider trading and fraudulent trade
practices.
Saradha chit fund-
Claimed to be a major financial and alleged political scam, this scam was a collapse of a Ponzi scheme run by the
The Scheme-
The Stamp Paper Scam, perpetrated by Abdul Karim Telgi from roughly 1992 to 2007, was a massive
counterfeiting operation that shook India's financial system. It hinged on creating fake versions of government-
issued stamp paper, a crucial element in legal documents and financial transactions.
Stamp paper functions similarly to a certain form of tax stamp applied to papers. It gives the government tax
revenue while confirming the legitimacy of transactions. However, the high- quality counterfeit stamp papers
manufactured by Telgi's network closely matched the actual ones. Since these fakes had security measures like
serial numbers and watermarks, it was challenging to tell them apart from real stamp paper.
Telgi expanded its network throughout India. This includes distributors who sold the forged documents, printers
who produced them, and even naive purchasers. Unknowingly using these fakes in transactions, banks, insurance
companies, and stockbrokers suffered large financial losses. One of the worst financial scams in Indian history, the
estimated value of the scheme is ₹300 billion (US$3.8 billion).
The fraud reduced public confidence in the legitimacy of official documents and revealed the weakness of stamp
paper security mechanisms. Telgi received a lengthy prison sentence following his arrest in 2001. But in 2018, the
case took an unexpected turn when a judge cleared him and the others for lack of evidence, igniting more
controversy.
The Stamp Paper Scam is a sobering reminder of the level of expertise attained by counterfeiters. It emphasizes
how crucial strong security measures and more stringent controls are to stop such scams from occurring in the
future.
mpact of the scam-
Financial losses- The government lost out on billions of rupees in tax revenue. This impacted public finances and
essential services
Legal Chaos- This involved disputed documents and loss of confidence. Documents became legally questionable
leading to disputes, delays, and unnecessary litigation costs. The scam also eroded trust in the authenticity of the
legal documents issued by the government.
Erosion of Trust- This involved the loss of trust of public for the government. The fraud revealed a flaw in
government systems, which gave the impression of corruption and incompetence to the public.
Controversial Verdict-
Despite Telgi's first sentencing for the crime, a 2018 court judgment cleared him and the other defendants for lack
of proof. There is ongoing discussion about this decision; some claim it makes it more difficult to hold those
responsible for the incident accountable.
A lesson that should be learned from the Stamp Paper Scam is the importance of having strong security measures
Increased enforcement, public awareness campaigns, whistleblower hotlines, imperative monitoring, risk
assessments are some of the short term strategies that can be put to use in order to minimize white collar crimes in
India, but diminishing a problem through short lived goals won’t sustain for a long time for which the methods
found to more effective and sustainable are enhanced regulatory oversight where there is periodic overview of
compliance with governing reforms, regulations and up to the mark corporate conduct. Raising awareness about
unethicality’s of engaging in frauds won’t sustain since education doesn’t’t stop at providing knowledge but it
helps find loopholes in the existing system in a more enhanced and improved way as you know about the ins and
outs of the system so well that it doesn’t’t take time to find a way around it , instead raising awareness about the
consequences of engaging into such activities and showing that the web of their fraud woven through the
regulatory, financial and economic framework of the country serves as a barrier between safeguarding financial
integrity of the nation and unethical conduct within the country’s institutions.
References
Upadhyay, M. & RET Academy for International Journals of Multidisciplinary Research (RAIJMR). (2014).
White-Collar crime in India. In International Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences (Vol. 2, Issue
2, pp. 4–5) [Journal-article]. RET Academy for International Journals of Multidisciplinary Research (RAIJMR).
https://www.raijmr.com/ijrhs/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/IJRHS_2014_vol02_issue_02_02.pdf
Chudasama, D., & Gorasiya, S. (2021). White collar crime in Indian context.
https://lawjournals.celnet.in/index.php/njcsl/article/view/884
Joshi, M. K. & School of Legal Studies, REVA University, Bangalore, India. (2023). Prevention of white collar
crimes in India: a critical analysis. In International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) (Vol. 12, Issue 5, p. 1)
[Journal-article]. https://www.ijsr.net/archive/v12i5/MR23502092950.pdf
Guest. (2019, June 20). IL&FS scam: Audit firm noted lapses by IFIN but looked the other way.
Financial Express. https://www.financialexpress.com/business/industry-ilfs-scam-audit-firm- noted-lapses-by-
ifin-but-looked-the-other-way-1611741/
Anand, P., Kumar, N., Sharma, A., & IL&FS. (n.d.). Anti money laundering. https://grm.institute/wp-
content/uploads/2021/05/ILFS-case-study-AML.pdf
Anand, P., Kumar, N., Sharma, A., & IL&FS. (n.d.). Anti money laundering. https://grm.institute/wp-
content/uploads/2021/05/ILFS-case-study-AML.pdf
Hayes, A. (2024, February 15). What is White-Collar Crime? Meaning, types, and examples.
Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/w/white-collar-crime.asp
Online legal services for startups & SMEs in India | Vakil Search. (2023, December 20). https://vakilsearch.com/
Performance Appraisals & Objectives | Manager Resources | Student Employment | DePaul University, Chicago.
(n.d.). https://offices.depaul.edu/student-employment/manager-
resources/Pages/performance-
appraisals.aspx#:~:text=Here%20are%20the%20objectives%20of,Providing%20formal%2C%20
written%20performance%20feedback
The impact of COVID-19 on the retail industry and the next actions to be taken. (n.d.). ABeam Consulting Ltd.
https://www.abeam.com/vn/en/topics/insights/covid19_retail