Essay on White Collar Crime and the Business World !
White collar crimes are also rampant in business world. There have always been instances of violation of trust. Sutherland made a careful study of a number of large corporations and business houses in United States and found that they were involved in illegal contracts, combinations or conspiracies in restraint of trade, misrepresentation in advertising, infringements against copyrights and trademarks, unfair labour practices, bribing public officials and so on. The public hardly knows the trickery of business criminals as they treat it as not too important for their purpose.
Sutherland attributed the highest degree of criminality to business world which includes traders, businessmen and industrialists. It has been held that “business communities in India of large and small merchants are basically dishonest bunch of crooks……….. nowhere in the world do businessmen get rich so quickly as they do in India”.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
The Report of the Monopolies Inquiry Commission expressed great concern about the chronic problem of hoarding, profiteering and black-marketing of essential commodities by traders in India. In times of shortage and scarcity of consumer commodities, the traders withdraw the stock and subsequently dispose it off at exorbitant prices.
The Santhanam Committee Report on Prevention of Corruption, observed that Indian businessmen build up secret hoards of foreign exchange abroad through under-invoicing of exports and over-invoicing of imports violating the Imports & Exports Laws and Foreign Exchange Regulations.
Although bribery is an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and both, bribe-taker as well as the bribe-giver are equally punishable, but commercial agents and public officials indulge in illegal gratification for their personal gain and the legal restraints provided for the purpose are hardly adequate to cure this menace.
It may, however, be pointed out that all bribery cases are not necessarily white collar crimes because white collar criminality is confined to only those illegal activities which the persons of prestigious group, high social status commit in course of their legitimate business or occupation for financial gain.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Adulteration of edible foodstuffs is also frequently committed by businessmen which is injurious to public health. The sale and production of spurious drugs and sub-standard medicines by manufacturers is yet another white collar crime which enables businessmen to earn huge illegal profits.
The evil has become so widespread and persistent that it is difficult to get even air, water and light unpolluted. The constant rise in price and cost of living has made the consumers cost-conscious. The unscrupulous traders take undue advantage of the situation and provide adulterated articles of food, drinks or drugs etc. at a cheaper rate and earn huge profits.
They even do not hesitate to add poisonous constituents to articles of food and drinks which are injurious to health. A number of deaths are reported every year due to consumption of spurious liquor or food poisoning.
Some of the common adulterants used in various edibles and articles of foodstuffs are:—
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(i) Injurious colours such as sacrol, succarin etc. in preparation of ice-cream and kulfi;
(ii) Addition of blotting paper or soapstone in panir;
(iii) Gent, ratanjot and powdered husk of rice or bran in powdered chillies and spices;
(iv) Coal-tar in batasha and other sweets;
(v) Horse-dung, powdered bran etc. in dhania.
These are only a few examples of adulteration in food and drinks. Despite stringent provisions in IPC, Adulteration Act, Drugs Act and Opium Act, the menace of adulteration still subsists and laws have failed to eradicate this evil.
White collar crimes also operate in insurance business where both the insured as well as insurer earn considerable profit by making false and fabricated claims. Instances are not wanting when intentional house-burning, automobile destruction and even murders are planned by the persons of respectable community in order to make good fortunes from the manipulated insurance claims.