AN AUTHOR - CRAFT FOR WHITE COLLAR CRIMES WITH SOME CHARGES ON SUCH MUMBO JUMBO

Shobhit Singh1

White Collar Crimes denote those anonymous, impersonal, indirect and difficult to detect variety of crimes which have been tagged as concentrated in the upper classes and many a times countermanding the requirement of mens rea. These differ from the conventional crimes in the genesis, pertinacity of intent and responsibility, pedagogics of criminology and penal philosophy as well as the pattern of law enforcement, trial procedure and sanction applied. Hence, this research paper pinpoints at length the characteristics, types, causes as well as the convolution involved in dealing with these crimes. The approach of Indian judiciary has also been traced down to uncover its leaning towards the repression of such crimes. Furthermore, the research paper diagnoses the fact that when there have been plurative white collar crimes in the nature of accounting scandals, corporate crimes, financial frauds, industrial espionage, instances of money laundering, mortgage fraud, securities fraud, terrorist financing and other variety of organized crimes; there is an urgent need of applying some of the useful measures to tackle these viz., technological surveillance, redefining the employer- employee culture, awareness about frequent frauds, initiation of stringent regulatory laws and establishment of special tribunals etc. to slow down their occurrence.

Speaking generally, the locution white collar crime by its primordial annals denotes the offences correlated to business. Most of the theories and particularly the economic theory of criminality[2] relating to criminal behavior have by comparison of the crime in the upper class and the lower classes concluded that ordinarily any crime has high incidence in moderate classes when drawn a parallel with the former. This anomalous behavior across classes concretized the belief of authors like Edwin H. Sutherland to make it the basis of their supposition of white collar criminality. Thence, the terminology ‘white collar crime’ is wedded with Edwin H. Sutherland who in his

1 UGC - JRF, Lucknow University, Lucknow 2 Associated widely with William A. Bonger and his work entitled ‘Criminality and Economic Conditions.’ Jstor (July 4, 2016, 11:11 a.m.), http://www.jstor.org/stable/1946842.

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scholarly article[3] on white collar criminality pioneered this pristine langue with conceptual phraseology: “crime in the upper or white-collar class, composed of respectable or at least respected business or professional men.”[4] However, while setting about his solipsistic conception of pocket criminality patented only to the camarilla, he strips the gentility of honors out of the whole cloth. Additionally, this conception of so- called upper class is itself buckled because of the marked contretemps in the denotation of upper class in myriad law systems from past to present vis a vis the successful coinage of words like aristocracy, plutocracy, beau monde and pant isocracy including the hagiology attached with these barring a few aberrations which, in turn, breaks the back of Sutherland’s noetic theory. Besides, there are disputes as to whether the shady dealings in bureaucracy and other respectable professions can be attributed solely to the job holders or the hoi polloi have themselves ripened into scapegraces. Again, the rationale to judge and attribute criminality to a class as a whole mirrors a dumb trick as it is mostly the circumstances that predicate criminality and classes can be absolved considerably from the cryptonym of criminality. Further, Sutherland also dubs white collar crime as ‘real’ crime, however, in reality, the offences against property have to be ferreted out in most of the penal codes whether of the past or present due to the secondary standing of these crimes before the offences against the body. In addition, Sutherland mutters that the financial loss as a result of this category of crimes is great and the societal damage these do is remediless then, I am vexed to think that if this being the case then why not to rechristen them as ‘socio- economic offences’ instead of singling out a polemic word like white collar crime. In eodem loco, had offences have anything to do with colour(s), all the convicted ones would not have been made to cast off white clothes, although that’s only a lighter part of the full scale narration. Moving further, Sutherland complains of colored treatment fixed up to white collar offenders which is ostensibly contemptuous of judicial probity, immaculacy and fundamentality and if status were to determine the follow up of a crime, the banks and other financial institutions would honestly have filed for bankruptcy long ago due to running wild of such offenders if one concedes to Sutherland’s theory. Then, Sutherland announces that the offenders of upper class are not treated as criminals in true sense, however, if one is all eyes to day to day events in either print or

3 Edwin H. Sutherland, White Collar Criminality, 5 American Sociological Review 1 (February, 1940). Asanet (July 20, 2016, 2:30 a.m.), Available at http://www.asanet.org/images/asa/docs/pdf/1939%20Presidential%20Address%20(Edwin%20Sutherland).pdf. 4 Ibid.

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electronic media, then, he would as a matter of course bear out that only the convicted ones from the upper classes or at least the famous ones are dressed down with demanding tongue- lashing. Sutherland also proposes that the white collar criminals have a prosperous past and they absorb white collar criminality from the archetypal white collar criminality deep- seated in large scale businesses but this assertion can find support only in a spoils system and in the countries where the ‘rule of law’ is the norm, his allegory only goes a million.

So, these were some of the dingy dimensions of Sutherland’s paper which I could not resist brandishing crappy, however, any carping criticism can only unsettle the settled & well thought of theories, hence, I’ll set about further in this research paper with the use of the phrase ‘white collar crime’ instead of ‘socio-economic offences’. The wordage ‘white collar crime’ as has been deliberated over earlier has enlarged its continuum over the years which can be figured out from the its multiplying types and amplitude viz., bank fraud, counterfeiting, embezzlements, extortion, forgery, insider trading, money laundering, paying hush money, securities fraud and tax evasion.[5] These can also be categorized as crimes by corporations, crimes by organizations and financial crimes etc. contingent on the profession in which these are carried out. I have also amassed some of the intensifying proclivity regarding the white collar crime these days viz.,

a) Gain in the finesse called for the commission of white collar crimes with the advancement of technology b) Escalation of sums embezzled due to commission of white collar crimes c) Non- espial of white collar crimes due to blotchy nexus between the culprits and the vigilantes d) Acclivity in the foot dragging of the investigating agencies thereby vacillating the common course of investigation processes e) Gust in cartel agreements and related business malpractices viz., bid- rigging, market allocation and price fixing etc. f) Teetering state of legislations to cobblestone white collar crimes and frequent write-off or re-enactment in the same domain.

5 There is some other distinctive typology of white collar crime viz., Jmaican Switch, , Ponzi fraud, Pyramid, etc. Ckfraud (July 22, 2016, 3: 35 p.m.), http://www.ckfraud.org/whitecollar.html.

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Now, the generalized categorization of white collar crimes can be sorted out as those crimes committed by professionals prevailing in corporate, education, engineering, legal, medical, societal and technical métiers.[6] However, the specific typification of such crimes in India with legislative bulwark against them is banking and insurance frauds, corporate criminality, corruption by public servants, crimes committed against arts & treasures, cyber-crimes, drug trafficking, employment frauds and racketeering, evasion in excise duty, financial crimes, foreign contribution manipulations, fraudulent bankruptcy, illicit trafficking in arms & explosives, illicit trafficking in contrabands, illegal trade in human organs, intellectual property infringements, money laundering, passport and visa fraud, real estate fraud, securities frauds, smuggling in antiques, tax avoidance and evasion, terrorist activities, theft in cultural objects, and wildlife & environmental violations.[7] These are some of the basic white collar crimes with which Indian law enforcement authorities have to grapple with prescriptively.

Yet another write out of classification of white collar crimes starts with ad hoc crimes which in turn, lumps together inter alia credit card fraud, hacking and tax- evasion; the second category is of those crimes enwrapping breach of trust and breach of faith viz., insider trading, misuse of funds, use of fictitious pay rolls and financial embezzlements; the third sub-division relates to the crimes committed by people enjoying high position and status which includes arrangement of fake mark- sheets and certificates, preparation of fraudulent medical bills and use of proxy educational institutions to gain undue financial gains; the fourth type refers to those which are usual part of business itself for example, commission of corporate crimes, infringement of domain name, non- conformity with the competition law in force and violation of intellectual property rights.

Also, there can be subject wise classification of white collar criminality viz., trade related white collar criminality such as creation of adulteration of edible foodstuff; artificial shortage and scarcity of materials by withdrawing stock and disposing it of at exorbitant prices subsequently; constant increase in prices of commodities; evasion of applicable laws; hoarding, overcharging; profiteering and black- marketing of essential commodities by traders; monopolistic control;

6 G. Nagarajan, J. Khaja Sheriff, White Collar Crimes in India, 1(9) International Journal of Social Sciences & Interdisciplinary Research (2012). 7 Classified broadly on the basis of data maintained by the Economic Offences Division of the Central Bureau of Investigation, Government of India. Cbi (August 25, 2016, 2:00 p.m.), http://www.cbi.nic.in/aboutus/manuals/Chapter_4.pdf.

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under invoicing of exports and over invoicing of imports etc.; crimes in medical and health care systems like illegal abortions, issuance of false medical certificates, misleading claims of medical cure, sale of sample drugs, sale of spurious drugs and tendering of favorable medical opinions etc.; crimes in engineering field typically, approval of sub-standard works, grant of accreditation with underhand dealings, maintenance of bogus reports and the sub-standard construction etc.; crimes in legal profession for instance, collusion with the opponent party, engagement of professional witnesses, resort to dilatory tactics, use of false evidence and violation of ethical standards, etc.; crimes in educational domain like, issuance of manipulated certificates, imposition of donation and capitation fee, setting up fake placement rackets, etc. as well as white collar criminality in business e.g. bribing public officials, combinations in restraint of trade, entering into illegal contracts, financial embezzlements, infringement of intellectual property rights, insider trading, maintenance of fictitious pay rolls, misuse of funds, poor financial reporting, putting in practice fraudulent accounting methods to deceive investors, use of unfair labour practices and use of special purpose entities etc.

Now let’s nose around for the causes of incidence of such crimes. The first relates to the evolution of black-gold politics[8] supported by an elite society, both being capable of molding and controlling economic institutions vis a vis the simultaneous development in technology have led to structuring of white collar crimes which are being mass carried out by bringing the law enforcement agencies to terms, lenifying the operable laws and weighing heavy on the state by a nexus among the power- brokers, posse and the elites.[9] The next obvious cause pertains to the jockeying temperament among the business class to stockpile more and more. Common causes for this may be to boot out the competitors, to upkeep the business yields cum standards and sometimes as a continuation of already in practice stereotypes. The third underlying reason appertains to the obvious germination from the Sutherland’s own theory of differential association[10] i.e. the white collar criminality is learnt by association. This manner of picking up criminal behavior though suffering from common infirmities explains the white collar criminality in big enterprises and corporations insofar as the scope of whistle blowing in such

8 Result of the pact between politicians, gangsters and business-class. 9 For a detailed study on such aspects, vide Jurg Gerber and Eric J. Fritsch, On the Relationship between White- Collar Crime and Political Sociology, American Sociology Association, 130- 139 (1993). 10 Criminal behavior is learnt in association with those who define such criminal behavior favorably and in isolation from those who define it unfavorably. For details, vide: John Braithwaite, White Collar Crime, Annual Review of Sociology 1-25 (1985).

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institutions is certainly modest. The fourth cause belongs to the perpetual and unchanging trajectory of acquitting the bon ton or remitting the punishment with imposition of only the flashy fines or shunning from blacklisting them on the basis of unscrupulous arguments of the defense- counsel. The fifth cause originates from the ‘esoterica’ maintained by the economist class both in the laws and the business practices as well as the gift of tongues to those who deal out with the economy together lend color to a wide blue yonder for anybody who doesn’t master the financial matters and in a country like India this cold fact passes current. This façade of economic stylistics has bailed out many false principled and insidious business schemes. The sixth reason revolves around the missing links in co-ordination and synchronization among both the national and international agencies in nabbing the offenders with international personality vis a vis there being issues related to legal complexities for instance, the laws related to extradition and many international evaders give the national law enforcement agencies a slip due to intricacies of law only. The seventh relates to somnolent unconcern of the public towards the financial sector of the country and the resultant inquisitiveness in the matters relating to white collar crimes. Also, there are no certain grounds which may provide the basis for distinguishing criminality and the immorality involved in the white collar crimes. Coincidentally, there has been noticed a tendency of disintegration of values in social structures which has further waxed the way in which these crimes were coming off.

Now let’s analyze some of the instances of the intense financial frauds that rocked India in recent past. The list goes on as the Bofors scam of 1986, Securities scams of 1991 and 2001, Hawala scam of 1997, Fodder scam of 1997, Unit Trust of India’s US 64 fund scam, the Enron scandal of 2001, Share Market scam of 2001, U.P. Food Grain scam of 2003, Stamp paper scam of 2004, Scorpene Submarine scam of 2005, 2G Spectrum scam of 2008, Money Laundering scam of 2008, Cash for Vote scandal of 2008, Satyam scam of 2009, Commonwealth scam of 2009, Adarsh Society Housing scam of 2010, Bellary Mining case of 2011, Tatra Truck scam of 2011, Antrix Devas Deal of 2011, Waqf Board land scam of 2012, DIAL scam of 2012, Indian Coal allocation scam of 2012, Augusta Westland scam of 2013, Railgate of 2013, Saradha Group Chit Fund scam of 2013, NRHM scam of 2013, NSEL scam of 2013, Delhi Jal Board scam of 2014, Aavin scam of 2014, MIAL scam of 2014, ICDS scam of 2015 and the recurrent disproportionate assets cases against many politicians and businessmen.

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After all this, let’s come across the attitude of the Indian judiciary in respect of white collar crimes. The first citable case is Balkrishna Chhaganlal Soni v. State of West Bengal[11] in which the court’s opinion was larded with its anguish over the state of affairs eventuating in the country. According to the court, the penal jurisprudence of the country must lend an ear to the social milieu, individual aspects and the constituents of the crime. The court found that the smugglers, hoarders, adulterers and people engaged in similar dealings had been on the fly in their underworld activities due to the inability of the legal mechanism to slowdown those activities. The court even spoke highly of incarcerating the offenders of economic crimes and as per the court, the economic crimes altogether form a distinct class deserving stiffer punishment. The court further remonstrated that the nugatory prosecutions to rebuff the tide of white collar crimes must jazz up the judges’ conscience.

The list of cases further disintegrates with the much acclaimed R.K. Garg And Ors. v. Union of India[12] in which the Supreme Court noticed that the virulent economic offences viz., tax evasion and black money were meticulously interrelated and the plenitude in the latter had stimulated the cropping up of an another parallel economy coextensively venturing with the conceptual economy. The Court, in fact, pointed out certain causes for the growth of black money in the country viz., a starving economy suffering from shortage of licenses with poor control mechanism established by the government; high rates of taxation under the current tax regime of the country breeding up the evil practices like tax evasion; running of the gamut of politician- businessmen monotony in form of donations, favorable policies and concessions etc. and the tax administration being down at heel among many others. The court realized the necessity to eliminate the same causes for outdoing black money in the country. At the same time, the court also highlighted some of the consequences of going off of black money. The first as pointed out by the court was the loss of revenue which in turn generally enriched only the chosen few and at the same time intensified inequality. The second, as the court observed was the after effects of being art and part of practices jazzing up black money with common forms such as inflation, outages, frequent fluctuation in the prices of commodities, decline in foreign exchange, uncertainty in balance of payment and rendering ineffectual many of the governmental economic efforts. The third, as noticed by the court was the immobilization of investible funds

11 1974 AIR 120, 1974 SCR (2) 107. 12 1982 133 ITR 239 SC, (1981) 4 SCC 675, 4 SCC 675, 1981 1 SCR 947, 1982 (14) UJ 12 SC.

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which could have been routed through various sectors of the economy boosting both the growth and development of the country as well as the people. Therefore, the court labeled up growth in black money as a cancerous growth and cautioned against its consequences. The court underlined the history of maturing of black money since the time of Second World War for which the government had been continuously digging deep to snaffle it in common forms such as changes in the administrative set up of tax department, amendments in the Income Tax Act of 1922,[13] demonetization of high denomination notes, enactment of legislation like the Taxation of Income Investigation Commission Act, 1947[14] and the Voluntary Disclosure of Income and Wealth Ordinance, 1975;[15] release of schemes like the Voluntary Disclosure Scheme of 1951,[16] the Sixty- Forty Scheme of 1965[17] and the Black or Block Scheme of 1965.[18] However, these efforts did not produce any desirable result and instead, the problem of black money went into the dumper.

Next, in K.I. Pavunny v. Assistant Collector[19] which was a case related to the recovery of some gold biscuits of foreign making, Supreme Court labeled the people involved in the aforesaid activity as contravening the provisions of the Gold (Control) Act, 1968 and therefore, white collar criminals and disguised gangsters. The court even asked the government of India to pay special attention in initiating and carrying on the prosecution in such cases to fend off the public justice and to withhold the economy of the country.

Thereafter, in Mohammad Aslam v. State of Uttar Pradesh[20] which was a case related to misappropriation of public money by a rural block development officer, Supreme Court observed that it had almost become common that the high and mighty escaped the punishment and the down and out were took to task. According to the court, in an elite driven society, the system of law errs on the side of the potent. The court also mentioned that in any developing country with deficient resources, monitoring public assets always subsumes conspicuous onerousness. The

13 Currently the Income Tax Act, 1961. 14 Indiankanoon (September 1, 2016, 2:04 p.m.), http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/1959284/. 15 Legalcrystal (September 3, 2016 11:05 a.m.), http://www.legalcrystal.com/act/134400/voluntary-disclosure-of- income-and-wealth-act-1976-complete-act. 16 Also known as Tyagi Scheme. Taxindiainternational (September 5, 2016, 3:50 p.m.), http://www.taxindiainternational.com/columnDesc.php?qwer43fcxzt=NzU=. 17 It was introduced through section 68 of the Finance Act of 1965. Ibidem. 18 Came through section 24 of the Finance Act of 1965. Ibidem. 19 Judgment delivered on February 3, 1997. 20 1976 AIR 2529, 1977 SCR (1) 689.

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court further surmised that in the instances of gross negligence in handling the public money even when there was no mens rea, criminal liability must be attached.

After that, in Mohammad Giasuddin v. State of Andhra Pradesh[21] which related to securing of sums from some unemployed men by making false promises of securing job for them, Supreme Court instead of ruling the accused with a rod of iron went easy by vocalizing the reformative tone of penology. The court propounded that criminality must be assumed to be a corrigible deviance and white collar crimes could be attributed to a great extent to the excesses of modernity and the resultant frustration arising out of failure. The court, in fact, laid emphasis on rehabilitation and reclamation of the offender into the main society instead of terrorizing him through the rigors of law for the wrongs done. The court also underlined the need to assess the socio- economic background of the offender before prescribing sentences for the offender.

Subsequent to this, in Nimmagadda Prasad v. C.B.I., Hyderabad[22] the Supreme Court mulled over the fact that there had been in recent past a considerate uprise in white collar crimes in India which had traumatized the economic structure of the country as well as the incidence of these offences had stagnated the growth and advancement of the country in economic domain. It further commented that the economic offences did have a different variety and hence, require a different treatment altogether. The court designated these offences as having deep-set web of intrigues and conspiracies thereupon incurring huge losses of public funds. The court also stressed on the need to consider those offences as grave and endangering the financial sector of the country.

Then, in Ram Narayan Popli v. Central Bureau of Investigation[23] Supreme Court observed that the cause of the community must be paid special attention by the courts while discharging their judicial functions. The court found that the whole society is wrecked havoc on if the offenders who violate the economy of the state roam free. The court further expressed that the unconcern for the causes of the community would result in letting slip the trust of the society in the judicial system and its ability to render justice. The court also noticed the parlous upsurge in the commission of white collar crimes which had damaged the country’s economic set up.

21 1977 AIR 1926, 1978 SCR (1) 153. 22 Criminal Appeal No. 728 of 2013. (arising out of S.L.P. (Crl.) No. 9706 of 2012. 23 Appeal (crl.) 1097 of 1999.

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Subsequently, in State of Gujarat v. Mohanlal Jitamalji Porwal[24] Supreme Court expressed clearly that the entire community suffered if the offenders committing economic offences thereby ravaging the economy of the state were not brought to book. The Court also mentioned that the economic offences were carried out with cool calculation and conscious scheme having in mind the monetary gains with a reckless disregard of the interests of the community which was the worst sufferer due to happening of such offences. In eyes of the Court, these offences also posed a trust deficit and serious leeriness in the community if appropriate measures were not taken to lay these offences under restraint.

Thereon, in Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy v. Central Bureau of Investigation[25] the Supreme Court called for playing safe while granting bail in economic matters assessing the seriousness of the economic offences.

Now lets inspect some of the data on white collar crime. According to Kroll, the incidence of fraud in big companies is curling upwards to the extent that 75% of the companies covered under the survey reported that they had undergone the fraud incidents in 2015-16.[26] In India, the National Crime Records Bureau reveals that in the past ten years, the incidence of economic crimes in the nature of cheating and criminal breach of trust had doubled which is reflected by the fact that the crime rate per 100,000 people increased upto 11.9 in 2015 from 6.6 in 2006.[27]

Needless to say that the rising graph of white collar crimes symbolizes a sort of leery enigma on the regulators of the any country. Billions are being looted without monition of the state, sums are being expropriated despite legal protections and businesses are being mismanaged to pocket millions, the story of apprehensions is as usual and nothing to withhold the same is about to set off. The economy down bends, investors’ confidence dips down and society is blanched. Such obduracy is knowing no bounds and the state sounds like stupors’ at the moment, then what to do to curb these? The first ad hoc working proposition is speedy trial of cases involving socio-

24 1987 CriLJ 1061. 25 Criminal Appeal No. 730 of 2013. (arising out of S.L.P. (Crl.) No. 3404 of 2013. 26 Kroll (November 4, 2016, 4:40 p.m.), http://www.kroll.com. 27 Livemint (November 7, 2016, 1: 14 p.m.), http://www.livemint.com/Politics/YsgD2H7eejPbz4U6dDn0KP/marginal-rise-in-economic-offences-NCRB-data- shows.html.

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economic offences.[28] Seeing the workload and pendency in common courts as well as the problems like delayage and deferral involved in the common routes of disposal of such cases, a practicable model which can be typified is that of the deportment handpicked for eagle-winged delivery of justice in environmental disputes by the National Green Tribunal[29] restraining the environment harriers. The tribunal(s) empowered to referee the disputes involving economic offences with a fixed monetary threshold vis a vis the governing or establishing Act exempting them form the rigours & complexity of common procedural laws like CrPC[30] and stuffing up them with requisite powers to render efficacious justice in economic offences can really save the day when a country like India, in recent past, has messed up with many high- nosed scams wreaking havoc on Indian economy.

The other suggests enhanced punishment for the convicted ones as a deterrent measure for the Supreme Court has itself propounded: “The soft justice syndrome vis a vis white collar offenders scandalizes the court. It stultifies social justice and camouflages needed severity with naive leniency…..soft sentencing justice is gross injustice where many innocents are the potential victims.”[31]

Yet another mode appears in the form of realization of the recommendations made by the financial watchdogs like SEBI[32] and scrupulous handling of financial information bunched up by intelligence agencies like Financial Intelligence Unit- India (FIU- IND).[33] So also, the centrifugence of experienced stewards and financial officers with latest technology for book- keeping and collating commercial dealings can ensure financial explicitness and transparence to a great extent.

28 For Advocacy of speedy trial of economic crimes, vide: Justice K.N. Basha, Effective and Speedy Disposal of Economic Offences Cases, Tamil Nadu State Judicial Academy, October 31, 2009. 29 Established on October 18, 2010 under the parent Act titled as the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010. Moef (December 5, 2016, 2:30 p.m.), http://www.moef.nic.in/downloads/public-information/NGT-fin.pdf. 30 The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is the prime Indian procedural legislation for the administration of the substantive criminal laws in India. Parliament (January 29, 2017, 4:56 p.m.) http://www.parliament.am/law_docs/010998HO248eng.pdf?lang=eng. 31 Madhav Hayawadanrao Hoskot v. State of Maharashtra 1978 AIR 1548, 1979 SCR (1) 192. 32 It was established on April 12, 1992 under the aegis of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 to safeguard the interest of investors and to superintend the securities market and matters connected therewith. Sebi (March 3, 2017, 10: 30 a.m.) http://www.sebi.gov.in. 33 FIU-IND was set up by the Government of India on 18 November, 2004 as the central authority to try out, gather, process and carry over information on shady and suspicious financial transactions. It is also mandated to orient the measures taken by agencies both national and international intelligence, investigation and enforcement to throttle down financial crimes. Fiuindia (March 7, 2017, 2:20 p.m.) http://www.fiuindia.gov.in.

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Now, while coming to the end of this paper, it is worth mentioning as has already been discussed in the beginning of this research paper that the phraseology of white collar crime is itself flawed to certain extent, however, to continue the settled trend of terming the offences committed by people of high social status as white collar crimes, it stands out a mile to retain the same nomenclature. This ever- growing category of white collar crimes in India has been tried to get stultified by the enforcement of the some of the puissant regulatory laws viz., various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; the Import and Export (Control) Act, 1947 with the Amendment Act, 1976; the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951; the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954; the Income Tax Act, 1961; the Customs Act, 1962; the COFEPOSA Act, 1974; the SAFEMFOP Act, 1976; the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985; the Consumer Protection Act, 1986; the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988; the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988; the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 and related regulations; Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999; the Information Technology Act, 2000; the Competition Act, 2002; SARFAESI Act, 2002; the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002; the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002; the Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003; Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006; the Right to Information Act, 2005; the Companies Act, 2013; the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 and the Bar Council of India Rules, 2015. Apart from this legislative framework to curb the threatening menace of white collar crimes, at the committee level, the Report of the Monopolies Inquiry Commission of 1965; the Report of the Committee on Prevention of Corruption, poplularly known as the Santhanam committee Report, 1962; the forty- seventh report[34] of the Law commission of India on the Trial and Punishment of Social and Economic Offences have set forth innovative recommendations to the government of India to think upon with many of those have been executed to get over with the white collar crimes. But, at the same time, one must not forget that auditing and keeping true accounts of finance is definitely a hard act to follow. So also, initiation of more stringent measures than those as presently in force would certainly not better the devil the finance sector of the country knows because that may press in the people to resort to unethical practices if necessarily not illegal to find out ways to stash away black money or other sort of undeclared income. Recently, in order to let down such practices as

34 Dated February 28, 1972.

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just mentioned, the government of India has opted for bank note demonetization [35] in November 2016 under which the banks received approximately rupees 14.97 lakh crore form the public including much of the non-declared income so also, it is estimated that this would save $30 billion in taxes for the government, however, such moves sometimes warrant lot of criticism from the public itself.

But anyway, excuses cannot whitewash the liability and responsibility requires sufficient vigilance through thick and thin.

35 Demonetization of rupees 500 and 1000 notes. Finmin (accessed March 25, 2017, 9:15 a.m.) http://www.finmin.nic.in/press_room/2016/press_cancellation_high_denomination_notes.pdf.

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