Learn more about financial crime and how to tackle it.
Financial crimes have the potential to result in extensive damage, impacting not just finances but also the realms of business, politics, and culture. What do financial crimes entail, and what are some typical examples? Why do they cause harm in numerous aspects of society?
Understanding Financial Crime
Financial crime usually consists of either stealing directly from an individual or organization or unlawfully altering or hiding the ownership of an asset. White-collar crime is another term for financial crime as it focuses on wealth rather than individuals, typically involving no physical harm. Nevertheless, it can have severe consequences for people's financial circumstances, as well as for regional or worldwide markets.
What Is Seen As A Financial Crime?
Financial offenses can be categorized into one of two groups. The initial classification pertains to a party that creates monetary gains for themselves or others using dishonest or illegal methods. This may involve a corporate worker using confidential information to embezzle a portion of the company's funds for personal gain. Another instance could involve a thief accepting cash or valuables from an individual in return for a financial document (like a check or money order) that is later discovered to be counterfeit.
The second type is when an individual commits a crime and benefits financially through illegitimate means or safeguards their financial interests using fraudulent or unlawful tactics. The most well-known form of the latter is money laundering: disguising the origins of criminal proceeds by passing them through a series of intricate transactions to make them seem like they are from a legal source. Another instance involves individuals utilizing shell corporations or shell banks to safeguard their funds, concealing ownership and thus enabling them to evade taxes.
The second type is when an individual commits a crime and benefits financially through illegitimate means or safeguards their financial interests using fraudulent or unlawful tactics. The most well-known form of the latter is money laundering: disguising the origins of criminal proceeds by passing them through a series of intricate transactions to make them seem like they are from a legal source. Another instance involves individuals utilizing shell corporations or shell banks to safeguard their funds, concealing ownership and thus enabling them to evade taxes.
Varieties of Financial Crime
Financial crime is defined broadly and can encompass all unlawful actions aimed at financial institutions, or any illegal creation or utilization of money for personal gain. Below are typical forms of financial misconduct:
- Laundering
Its initial goal is to discreetly integrate funds from illegal activities into a financial system (placement). Its second goal is to circulate that money in order to establish a series of transactions, making it seem legitimate and challenging to track back to its initial illegal source (layering/structuring). The ultimate goal is to give the criminals back the money so they can spend it without being noticed by authorities (laundering).
- Terrorist Funding
Terrorist financing involves giving financial resources to terrorists, including both individuals and organizations.
- Tax Avoidance
To intentionally not report income that is subject to taxes is one way to commit tax fraud. Another way is to intentionally claim more tax deductions than what one is actually eligible for. Not submitting a tax return is also considered tax evasion. An entity could also engage in tax evasion by keeping or putting their assets in banks or companies located in other countries, or that are considered "shell" entities (i.e. having no physical presence or operations). This enables them to inaccurately state that they possess fewer assets than they truly have in order to unlawfully reduce the amount of taxes they owe.
- Insider Trading
This behavior is known as insider trading, and it is considered a financial crime in numerous locations. It occurs when an individual is given information for alternative reasons (such as corruption and embezzlement) or simply takes it without permission. They gained an unjust edge by utilizing undisclosed information from the public.
Criminals can also manipulate stock markets through various illegal methods. An instance is "wash trading" which involves buying and quickly selling shares in a company. This gives the impression that there is a high volume of financial transactions involving the company's stock, potentially causing its price to rise artificially. Another scheme of the same nature is referred to as "pump and dump". This includes a company buying a cheap stock and then spreading false information implying that the stock will rise in value soon. Their aim is to generate a surge in trading activity for the stock, thus driving up its worth.
Criminals can also manipulate stock markets through various illegal methods. An instance is "wash trading" which involves buying and quickly selling shares in a company. This gives the impression that there is a high volume of financial transactions involving the company's stock, potentially causing its price to rise artificially. Another scheme of the same nature is referred to as "pump and dump". This includes a company buying a cheap stock and then spreading false information implying that the stock will rise in value soon. Their aim is to generate a surge in trading activity for the stock, thus driving up its worth.
- Identity Theft
An offender has various options when it comes to committing identity theft. Phishing is a common tactic in which perpetrators deceive individuals into providing their login information by employing an appealing or pressing message that may seem to come from a trustworthy source. They are able to access online accounts to steal login information or pretend to be someone else. Alternatively, they could also buy credentials that have been compromised in data breaches on the black market.
Crime Committed Using Computers Or The Internet
As financial activities shift to the Internet, financial crimes also increase. Criminals are now using digital platforms to steal money and authorization credentials, putting at risk sensitive information, creating fake financial assets, manipulating markets, and perpetrating various forms of fraud. Virtual currencies are increasingly becoming favored instruments for committing financial crimes.
Statistics On Financial Crimes
18% of big companies encountered fraud in 2022, with the most significant case amounting to over $50 million. 22% of smaller businesses that fell victim to fraud reported that their most impactful financial crime incident resulted in losses of over $1 million. Here are a few more financial crime patterns to be on the lookout for in the future:
- The Increase Of Cyber Financial Crimes
The COVID-19 outbreak increased the need for and acceptance of instant online financial services, such as neobanks, virtual currency trading, and embedded finance. This makes them more susceptible to malicious individuals, particularly hackers, online scammers, and other external parties.
- An Increased Significance For Sanctions Screening
Businesses are rushing to prevent getting punished for unlawfully engaging with risky individuals, organizations, and nations—either directly or within their distribution networks.
AI And Other Evolving Methods To Prevent Financial Crimes
This involves the use of machine learning models to better detect indicators of financial fraud and to prioritize alerts that are highly likely to be accurate. It also involves adopting a broader, organization-wide strategy to combat financial crime and requires improved communication among departments in order to evaluate customer risk during both the onboarding process and ongoing financial transactions.
Why Are Financial Criminals Bad?
Here are a few explanations of why financial criminals are bad:
- Financial criminals invest in crime to profit, distorting the supply and demand within the industry:
Therefore, their investments in legal industries are typically aimed at safeguarding their assets through money laundering rather than seeking profits. Industries are at risk of collapse when criminals shift their money elsewhere due to artificial demand.
- Puts the stability of financial institutions at risk:
Financial institutions holding the profits of financial wrongdoing often experience fast movements of significant amounts of money. This is typically done either to clean the money or to hide it from authorities conducting investigations. This could lead to liquidity issues for the financial institution, ultimately resulting in customers panicking and initiating bank runs.
- Impacts government income:
Financial criminals frequently attempt to evade taxes in order to safeguard their profits, affecting government revenue. This leads to a reduction in funds available for vital projects by the government, complicates the process of tax collection, and frequently leads to increased taxes for law-abiding citizens.
- Inhibits the economic development of developing nations:
Emerging countries prioritize expanding their financial sectors over-regulating them as they become more influential in the global economy.
- Takes over management of economic policy:
Another risk of financial crime thriving in loosely regulated developing nations is that the profits from it could surpass the budgets of the governments in those countries. This essentially implies that the country's economy is being run by criminals rather than the rightful government.
- Contributes to moral decay:
Allowing financial crime to go unchecked in a country can lead to an increase in the number of people participating in such activities. This leads to an increase in individuals being affected by criminal acts like drug trafficking and human trafficking, potentially pushing them towards engaging in criminal behavior due to their feelings of isolation and desperation. This process has the ability to undermine the legal framework of a nation, as well as its principles of democracy.
Prevention of Financial Crimes
In order to prevent being involved in such illegal actions, businesses need to proactively invest in the necessary infrastructure and systems to detect and stop any criminal activities. Numerous financial crimes necessitate transactions that cross borders. Sadly, the existing global financial system further complicates the tracking and prosecution of advanced criminal behavior. Money launderers exploit variations in regulations to transfer money across borders, obscuring the path.
Also, those funding terrorist activities move funds across borders to carry out their attacks. Teams have the ability to enhance operations and decrease instances of false positives. Compliance typically involves identifying suspicious activity, conducting investigations, and reporting to the relevant government agency. It is undeniable that putting an end to financial crime requires a significant amount of effort.
Following national and international standards for detection and prevention is a positive beginning. Nevertheless, accomplishing this can be more challenging than expected. Emerging financial crimes continue to arise as policies, procedures, and technologies evolve. Therefore, regulations must change, leading to adjustments in organizations' compliance programs.
Also, those funding terrorist activities move funds across borders to carry out their attacks. Teams have the ability to enhance operations and decrease instances of false positives. Compliance typically involves identifying suspicious activity, conducting investigations, and reporting to the relevant government agency. It is undeniable that putting an end to financial crime requires a significant amount of effort.
Following national and international standards for detection and prevention is a positive beginning. Nevertheless, accomplishing this can be more challenging than expected. Emerging financial crimes continue to arise as policies, procedures, and technologies evolve. Therefore, regulations must change, leading to adjustments in organizations' compliance programs.
Conclusion
In the end, combating financial crime involves managing risks by identifying an organization's vulnerabilities and putting in place appropriate controls such as identity verification, transaction monitoring, and case management. This will aid the organization in both reducing the risk of falling prey to financial crime and promptly managing the repercussions of such crimes.
