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Date: November 22, 2024 Fri

Time: 12:16 pm

Results for economic crimes

39 results found

Author: Queensland. Crime and Misconduct Commission

Title: Organised Fraud in Queensland: A Strategic Assessment

Summary: This 2009 fraud assessment report focuses on major organized crime groups and their use of fraud both as a means to earn money and as a facilitator of further criminal enterprise. Although many fraud offenses are opportunistic and carried out by individuals or groups, this assessment focuses on fraud committed by organized criminal networks against persons, businesses and companies; it does not extend to corporate sector fraud. This summary provides an overview of current and emerging issues relating online, credit card, identity and check fraud.

Details: Brisbane: Crime and Misconduct Commission, 2009. 27p.

Source: Internet Resource; Crime Bulletin, No. 10

Year: 2009

Country: Australia

URL:

Shelf Number: 118831

Keywords:
Computer Crimes
Economic Crimes
Fraud (Australia)
Identity Theft
Organized Crime (Australia)

Author: Lanton, Lynn

Title: Identity Theft Reported by Households, 2007 - Statistical Tables

Summary: The report presents data on identity theft victimization reported by households from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). These statistical tables provide 2007 data on rates and types of identity theft, as well as demographic characteristics of victimized households and their monetary losses. Tables compare rates of identity theft victimization in 2005 to 2007. Estimates from the last half of 2008 are also presented and compared to estimates from the same 6-month period in 2007. Highlights include the following: 1) The number of households with at least one member who experienced one or more types of identity theft increased 23% from 2005 to 2007; 2) From 2005 to 2007, the number of households that experienced credit card theft increased by 31% and the number that experienced multiple types during the same episode increased by 37%; 3) During the 6-month period in 2008 for which identity theft victimization data was collected as part of the regular NCVS, 3.3% of households discovered that at least one member had been a victim of one or more types of identity theft.

Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2010. 5p.

Source: Internet Resource; National Crime Victimization Survey 2007. Accessed August 10, 2010 at http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=2294

Year: 2010

Country: United States

URL: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=2294

Shelf Number: 119581

Keywords:
Credit Card Theft
Economic Crimes
Identity Theft
Victimization Surveys
Victims of Crime

Author: Weston, Nicola

Title: Business Policing Model: Business Policing Team

Summary: This document reports key findings from research undertaken to inform the development of an evidence-based approach to the policing of business communities. Whilst the police have for a long time acknowledged that some businesses are the perpetrators and victims of crime, there has been an increasing recognition that, to date, the reality of the delivery of policing services to businesses has been rather one-dimensional. That is, the approach adopted has been largely focused upon economic crime issues and has failed to grasp the heterogeneity of the make-up of business communities and their needs. The lack of nuance and texture to the policing of business communities has been bought into particularly sharp relief when set against the developments that have occurred over recent years in relation to the policing of residential communities. Through the auspices of the national roll-out of the Neighbourhood Policing programme, there have been significant improvements in the quality of service provided to residential communities and the ability of policing agencies to understand and respond to the genuine needs of these communities. The aim of the wider action research programme of which this research study is a part is to leverage a similar step-change in the way that the policing of business communities is undertaken. The ultimate goal being to design and test a model of Business Policing that can be introduced into different situations and contexts. In the current economic climate the kinds of improvements that the Business Policing Model programme is seeking to design and test are potentially very significant. The jobs and services that businesses provide, is part of the social infrastructure that contributes to the overall vitality and well-being of communities. In preventing and responding to the crimes and disorders that businesses encounter and experience, police have a key role in shaping the environment in which businesses can develop and prosper, with the associated secondary benefits that flow from such a situation. The philosophy guiding both the empirical research and the wider programme of interventions is that the starting point for the effective policing of business communities is to understand the needs and expectations of businesses in all their varied forms. It is this sense of understanding that this report seeks to facilitate. Based upon a combination of qualitative and quantitative data collected via interviews and questionnaires with businesses of different types and sizes, ranging from large multi-national corporations through to small-medium enterprises, the analysis set out herein seeks to cover the following issues: • Current experiences of crime, disorder and policing from the perspectives of businesses of different types; • Recognising that businesses and workers may have markedly different needs and expectations; • Outline potential responses to these issues that collectively would constitute the key components of a Business Policing Model.

Details: Cardiff: Police Science Institute, Cardiff University, 2008(?). 62p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 26, 2010 at: http://www.upsi.org.uk/resources/BPM%20Research%20Phase%201.pdf

Year: 2008

Country: United Kingdom

URL: http://www.upsi.org.uk/resources/BPM%20Research%20Phase%201.pdf

Shelf Number: 120109

Keywords:
Business Community
Businesses and Crime
Crime Prevention
Economic Crimes
Policing

Author: Garuba, Dauda S.

Title: Trans-Border Economic Crimes, Illegal Oil Bunkering and Economic Reforms in Nigeria

Summary: This paper examines the phenomenon of economic crime across borders and its specific character of illegal oil bunkering in Nigeria vis-à-vis the country’s economic reform agenda. Among the questions the paper seeks to address are: What is the underlying linkage between trans-border economic crime and the phenomenon of globalization? What are its illegal oil bunkering characters? How are they reflected in Nigeria? To what extent has the economic reform agenda of the country addressed them? What is the way forward to dealing with its undermining impacts for the Nigerian physical and economic security? The paper is divided into six parts. The first part (an introduction), attempts to contextualize Nigeria’s economic reform within the rubrics of the unfinished political democratization agenda that started in the 1980s. The second part discusses trans-border economic crime within the context and linkage with the logic of globalization, while parts three and four attempt to locate Nigeria and the trans-border character of illegal oil bunkering in that linkage. Part five reviews the diverse attempts to reconnect Nigeria to prosperity via reforms, while the last part constructs way forward for the realization of the goal.

Details: Santiago, Chile: Global Consortium on Security Transformation, 2010. 23p.

Source: Internet Resource: Policy Brief Series, No. 15: Accessed February 8, 2011 at: http://www.securitytransformation.org/images/publicaciones/194_GCST_Policy_Brief_15_-_Trans-Border_Economic_Crimes,_Illegal_Oil_Bunkering_and_Economic_Reforms_in_Nigeria.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: Nigeria

URL: http://www.securitytransformation.org/images/publicaciones/194_GCST_Policy_Brief_15_-_Trans-Border_Economic_Crimes,_Illegal_Oil_Bunkering_and_Economic_Reforms_in_Nigeria.pdf

Shelf Number: 120720

Keywords:
Economic Crimes
Illegal Oil
Illegal Trade

Author: Osaghae, Eghosa E.

Title: Youth Militias, Self Determination and Resource Control Struggles in the Niger-delta Region of Nigeria

Summary: The Niger-delta region, Nigeria’s oil belt has been the site of a generalised ethnic and regional struggle for self-determination since 1998, the location of often violent confrontations between local ethnic communities and agents of the Nigerian state and oil companies involved in the extraction and exploitation of oil in area. What began as community agitation has undoubtedly undergone several transformations. The first profound transformation was the flowering of civil society, which mobilised a popular civil struggle. In the second, the agitation was extended from that against multinational oil companies (MNCs) to include the Nigerian state. The third transformation involved the elevation of the agitation from purely developmental issues to include the political demands such as federal restructuring, resource control and the resolution of the national question through a conference of ethnic nationalities. The current and fourth stage of the transformation has seen the entrance of youths, youth militancy and youth militias with volatile demands and ultimatums that has elevated the scale of confrontations and violence with the multinationals and the state. The youths presently spearhead and constitute the vanguard of Niger-delta conflict. They chart the course of methods, tactics and strategies and define the conflicts. They drive and run the conflicts and determine the very essence of its momentum, vitality, vocalisation and diction. The insurgency has involved diverse youth militias, well armed, fairly well trained and equipped, using largely speed boats and operating fairly freely in the swamps, creeks, estuaries, rivers and coastal areas of the region, who engage the Nigerian military and seize oil facilities, ships, barges, workers and equipment. Increasingly, the youth militancy has become criminalised, with the region being transformed into an arena of economic crimes, violence and wars between ethnic and communal groups. The present youth-led collective action in the Niger-delta draws inspiration from the 1966 declaration of a Niger-delta republic by a group of educated youths led by cadet sub inspector Isaac Adaka Boro that involved an armed insurrection against the Nigerian state and the seizing of oil facilities. The conflicts have witnessed massive deployments of the Nigerian Army, Navy and other security agencies and represent the most prolonged, extensive and intensive internal military action since the Nigerian civil war», with devastating negative impact on local and national security and stability, and on global economic growth. The negative impact of violence associated with youth-led self-determination struggles in the Niger-delta raises the need for an in-depth examination of the youth, militias and self-determination nexus in the Niger-delta. In other words, there is a need to understand the history, changing contexts and local and social processes and dynamics of the conflicts in the Niger-delta to guide policy-making. Who are the main parties to the conflict? What are their perceptions, values, attitudes and interests? What has been the role of civil society, gender, local elite, traditional governance structures in the prosecution, sustenance and management of the conflicts? How do youths perceive, formulate and respond to the resource control struggles? What social, economic, cultural and political processes conduce with youth responses and methods? What are the methods, strategies and consequences of youth engagement? What is the nature of state, corporate and international perceptions, responses and interventions? What are the efforts and results of conflict containment, management and peacemaking efforts and peacekeeping efforts? The objectives of the study are to examine: a) The resource struggles and conflicts in the Niger-delta region and the role of youths in it; b) The objectives, methods, strategies and conducts of youth engagement; c) The youth movements and militias and their confrontations with the Nigerian state, MNCs and other ethnic groups/communities; d) The results, ramifications and implications of the conflicts; and e) The interventions and policies, their effectiveness or otherwise and efforts at peacemaking.

Details: Dakar, Senegal: : Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, 2011. 108p.

Source: Internet Resource: CODESRIA Research Reports: No. 5: Accessed March 23, 2011 at: http://www.codesria.org/IMG/pdf/CDP_Nigeria2.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: Nigeria

URL: http://www.codesria.org/IMG/pdf/CDP_Nigeria2.pdf

Shelf Number: 121102

Keywords:
Economic Crimes
Natural Resources
Youth Militias
Youth Violence

Author: Kego, Walter

Title: Organized Crime and the Financial Crisis: Recent Trends in the Baltic Sea Region

Summary: The financial crisis has affected not only the economies of countries in the Baltic Sea Region. It also provided a golden opportunity for organized crime groups to expand their activities. This book presents analyses by leading criminologists on how these groups have been able to take advantage of the crisis. Using a wide range of information and statistical data, the six case studies reveal the extent to which organized crime groups have infiltrated societies and pose a severe threat not only to individuals but also the state. Countries profiled include: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden.

Details: Stockholm: Institute for Security and Development Policy, 2011. 153p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 3, 2011 at: http://www.isdp.eu/images/stories/isdp-main-pdf/2011_kego-leijonmarck-molcean_organized-crime-and-the-financial-crisis.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: International

URL: http://www.isdp.eu/images/stories/isdp-main-pdf/2011_kego-leijonmarck-molcean_organized-crime-and-the-financial-crisis.pdf

Shelf Number: 122625

Keywords:
Economic Crimes
Economics and Crime
Organized Crime

Author: Council of Europe. Parliamentary Assembly. Committee on Economic Affairs and Development

Title: The Underground Economy: A Threat to Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law

Summary: The underground economy represents a large and growing share of the overall economic activity in Europe and beyond. It accounts for from about 10% to over 60% of gross domestic product in different European countries. The “new democracies” of central and eastern Europe – where the rule of law is more fragile and where vested interest groups are firmly rooted – are particularly affected. The evolving structure of the world economy, the geopolitical changes following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the global economic crisis have all fuelled the growth of the informal economy. The report stresses that the underground economy and its extreme form – economic crime – significantly erode state authority and the capacity for good governance which are essential for fostering democracy, development and the rule of law. These phenomena also deprive state budgets of much tax revenue, distort competition, flout citizens' socio-economic rights, slow down economic progress, abuse public welfare systems and propagate lawlessness. The reports considers that the Council of Europe should pay more attention to addressing the problem of undeclared work, study more closely the activities of offshore centres as financial intermediaries and review the situation of organised crime in its member states. It proposes a series of directions for action, ranging from evaluation measures, regulatory adjustments, electronic surveillance of money flows, use of economic intelligence to information exchange, whistle-blowing and witness protection.

Details: Strasbourg Cedex: Council of Europe, 2011. 14p.

Source: Internet Resource: Doc. 12700: Accessed January 23, 2012 at: http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc11/EDOC12700.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: Europe

URL: http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc11/EDOC12700.pdf

Shelf Number: 123735

Keywords:
Counterfeit Goods
Economic Crimes
Tax Evasion
Underground Economy (Europe)
Whistleblowing

Author: Australian Institute of Criminology

Title: Serious and Organised Investment Fraud in Australia

Summary: In 2011, Task Force Galilee was established to broaden the understanding of Serious and Organised Investment Fraud and to develop a national response. As at April 2012, the Task Force estimated that Australians’ losses to this type of fraud since January 2007 were in excess of A$113 million, with this figure likely to be conservative. During this period more than 2,600 Australians were victims of Serious and Organised Investment Fraud. These figures have largely been established as a result of intelligence analysis, and do not reflect the actual level of reporting by victims, which remains low. This report has been prepared to provide an insight into the nature and extent of this type of fraud as it currently affects Australia. Since the Task Force’s establishment, knowledge and understanding of Serious and Organised Investment Fraud has grown exponentially, and continues to do so. The information in this report is a compilation of the key characteristics identified via available literature and relevant Task Force member findings.

Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology and the Australian Crime Commission, 2012. 43p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 10, 2012 at: http://www.crimecommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/Galilee%202012/SOIFA_Report_040712.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: Australia

URL: http://www.crimecommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/Galilee%202012/SOIFA_Report_040712.pdf

Shelf Number: 125962

Keywords:
Economic Crimes
Financial Crimes (Australia)
Fraud
White-Collar Crimes

Author: Schneider, Friedrich

Title: The Shadow Economy

Summary: Summary: • Measurement of the shadow economy is notoriously difficult as it requires estimation of economic activity that is deliberately hidden from official transactions. Surveys typically understate the size of the shadow economy but econometric techniques can now be used to obtain a much better understanding of its size. • The shadow economy constitutes approximately 10 per cent of GDP in the UK; about 14 per cent in Nordic countries and about 20–30 per cent in many southern European countries. • The main drivers of the shadow economy are (in order): tax and social security burdens, tax morale, the quality of state institutions and labour market regulation. A reduction in the tax burden is therefore likely to lead to a reduction in the size of the shadow economy. Indeed, a virtuous circle can  be created of lower tax rates, less shadow work, higher tax morale, a higher tax take and the opportunity for lower rates. Of course, a vicious circle in the other direction can also be created. • Given this relationship, the high level of non-wage costs (averaging 39 per cent of total labour costs) and the penalty on individuals who move from earning one third to two thirds of the median wage (averaging 58 per cent of the increase in earnings for a one-earner couple) in the European Union should be a matter of real concern. The latter figure is 79 per cent in the UK and thus low-paid UK workers have a huge incentive to supplement their incomes in the shadow economy. • The number of participants in the shadow economy is very large. Although up-to-date figures are not available, at the end of the twentieth century up to 30 million people performed shadow work in the EU and up to 48 million in the OECD. Reliable detailed studies are not available for many countries. In Denmark, however, the latest studies suggest that about half the population purchases shadow work. In some sectors – such as construction – about half the workforce is working in the shadow economy, often in addition to formal employment. Only a very small proportion of shadow economy workers can be accounted for by illegal immigrants in most countries. • In western Europe, shadow work is relatively prevalent among the unemployed and the formally employed. Other non-employed (for example, the retired, homemakers and students) do relatively less shadow work. This has implications for policy in terms of the importance of social security systems that reduce the opportunities for shadow work among the unemployed and the importance of tax systems that do not discourage the declaring of extra income. • Policies focused on deterrence are not likely to be especially successful when tackling the shadow economy. The shadow economy is pervasive and made up of a huge number of small and highly dispersed transactions. We should also be wary about trying to stamp out the shadow economy as we may stamp out the entrepreneurship and business formation that goes with it. • There are, however, huge potential benefits from allowing  the self-employed and small businesses to formalise their arrangements. Businesses cannot flourish if they remain in the shadow economy. They might be reluctant to formalise, however, if it involves admitting to past indiscretions. Worthwhile policies include: reducing business compliance regulation; amnesties; providing limited tax shelters  for small-scale informal activity such as the provision of interest-bearing loans to relatives and friends; and allowing businesses to formalise using simple ‘off the shelf’ models. Such policies have been successful in other countries – and to a limited extent in the UK – with high benefit-to-cost ratios. • Given that the shadow economy constitutes a high proportion of national income, and varies between less than 8 per cent of national income and over 30 per cent of national income in OECD countries, official national income statistics can often be misleading. Comparisons are made even more difficult because some countries adjust figures for the shadow economy (for example, Italy) and others do not. • In less developed countries, the informal sector constitutes typically between 25 and 40 per cent of national income and represents up to 70 per cent of non-agricultural employment. In such countries, informal activity often arises because of the inadequacies of legal systems when it comes to formalising business registration.

Details: London: Institute of Economic Affairs, 2013. 184p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 5, 2013 at: http://www.iea.org.uk/publications/research/the-shadow-economy

Year: 2013

Country: United Kingdom

URL: http://www.iea.org.uk/publications/research/the-shadow-economy

Shelf Number: 128963

Keywords:
Commercial Crimes
Economic Crimes
Financial Crime
Shadow Economy (U.K.)
Tax Evasion
Underground Economy

Author: Center for the Study of Democracy

Title: The Hidden Economy in Bulgaria: 2011 – 2012

Summary: The deep penetration of hidden economic activities in Greece and other peripheral Eurozone members – a development which is at the epicenter of the continuing Eurozone debt crisis, has demonstrated that accurate understanding of the dynamics of the hidden economy is essential for improving public and private sector management. In the case of Bulgaria, an assessment of the hidden economy is an issue of particular importance as the country is facing serious challenges in all of its aspects – gray, black and informal economy. It is even more pressing in the light of the country’s current low level of competitiveness and its aspirations for participation in the European stability and sustainable growth initiatives such as Europe 2020 and the Euro-Plus Pact. The hidden economy in Bulgaria has decreased in 2011 – 2012 among both businesses and the population. Yet, the registered gains are modest. Deep structural labor market problems and long-term business environment issues continue to constitute favorable conditions for the development of hidden economic activities in Bulgaria.

Details: Sofia, Bulgaria: Center for the Study of Democracy, 2013. 16p.

Source: Internet Resource: Policy Brief No. 37: Accessed August 19, 2013 at: http://www.csd.bg/artShow.php?id=16342

Year: 2013

Country: Bulgaria

URL: http://www.csd.bg/artShow.php?id=16342

Shelf Number: 129661

Keywords:
Economic Crimes
Financial Crimes
Hidden Economy (Bulgaria)

Author: Allain, Jean

Title: Forced Labour's Business Models and Supply Chains

Summary: This study analyses how businesses make money from forced labour. It develops a conceptual model of the business of forced labour and sets out the darker side of the labour supply chains of cannabis 'grow-ops', the construction industry and the food sector. Key points - This new conceptual model is based on the types of businesses conducting forced labour and how money is made from it. - How the UK economy functions (e.g. low business regulation and work/immigration policies) creates a pool of people who are vulnerable to forced labour. - Forced labour in the UK is not hidden. Mapping supply chains demonstrates not only where forced labour is likely to occur, but also where informality meets the formal economy. - Forced labour is associated with informality. The product and supply chains involved illustrate how informality becomes the gateway to forced labour. - Sector-specific conditions within the cannabis, construction and food industries allow for the possibility of forced labour as follows: - illegality of the product (cannabis); - volatility and self-regulation of labour providers (construction); and - seasonality (food). - Current approaches are limited in their effectiveness at preventing, detecting or prosecuting the crime of forced labour.

Details: York, UK: Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2013. 77p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 2, 2014 at: http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/forced-labour-business-full.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: United Kingdom

URL: http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/forced-labour-business-full.pdf

Shelf Number: 132613

Keywords:
Economic Crimes
Forced Labor
Supply Chains

Author: Oxford Economics

Title: Cyber-attacks: Effects on UK Companies

Summary: Gary Becker's seminal 1968 paper on the economics of crime shaped the way economists think about crime policy and is still applied in many contexts today. Becker explored the decision making function of rational criminal actors, suggesting that criminals choose to engage in illicit activity based on their own assessment of the costs and benefits. Rational criminal actors weigh up the potential yield from a criminal act, the risk of being caught and the severity of the punishment. The decision making process of state-sponsored cyber-attacks differs from that of ordinary criminals in important ways, which may potentially limit the direct applicability of the traditional economic models of crime such as Becker's. State-sponsored attackers are characterised by the very fact that a "non-profit" state entity is involved (as opposed to Becker's individual "for profit" criminals), potential information asymmetry, a perception of immunity from prosecution and the intangible value attributed to acts of patriotism (which does not figure in traditional economic approaches to crime, such as Becker's). At the same time, there is value in understanding the economic theory of crime, as advanced by Becker. States are unlikely to change their activities in the short term, particularly because of non-pecuniary/distorted concepts of returns. However they may do so in the long term, especially if deterred by adequate security measures and changes in operational procedures, (i.e. if the costs of cyber-attacks rise) and as they realise that the returns to cyber-attacks may be mixed at best . This again points to a need for firms to understand the nature of - and threat posed by - current attacks, so as to raise the costs of cyber-attacks for nation-state perpetrators in order to help deter future attacks. Apart from the implications for individual firms, cyber-attacks impact on the UK economy as a whole in two major ways: - Increasing the cost of doing business - Distorting the pattern of long run investment ("dynamic effects") Survey work on the nature of cyber-attacks in the UK undertaken by Oxford Economics and the Ponemon Institute found the following: - Cyber-attacks are a common problem. 60% of respondents had experienced a cyber-attack within the last 12 months. - Loss estimates were highest for damage to reputation/branding. All other costs were reported with raw averages around the $2 million mark, with adjusted means slightly under half that and medians of $175,000. However, the raw average reputation/branding loss estimate was $2.9 million. - Intellectual property and commercially sensitive data is stolen in all sectors, but by no means happens to everyone. With this in mind it is interesting to note that 80% of respondents reported that they had not experienced any IP or commercially sensitive information loss in the last 24 months. - The majority of firms who did suffer a loss of IP or commercially sensitive information felt they were damaged by it. 61% said that they had experienced a loss of competitive advantage due to the loss of IP. 59% said that they had experienced a loss of competitive advantage due to the loss of commercially sensitive information. - The most common loss of competitive advantage came in the shape of "compromised negotiations or business ventures" (31%), followed by the "appearance of copied products or practise" (20%) and the "emergence of new competition" (19%). - While only a minority of companies suffer IP/commercially sensitive information losses, the cost of such losses is considerably higher than is the case for "day to day" losses. The adjusted mean loss of IP was valued at $13.2 million and the adjusted mean loss of commercially sensitive business information was valued at $12.8 million. In addition to the survey of UK firms, which identifies the direct costs incurred as a result of cyber-attacks, Oxford Economics has undertaken an event study to analyse the potential reputational loss firms may suffer. As a proxy for reputational damage we use negative stock market returns that may be experienced immediately around the public disclosure of a cyber-attack. Although further confirmatory analysis would be useful, our results suggest that publicised cyber-attacks do generally have impacts on stock market valuations and, by extension, upon corporate reputations. If this is the case, it means that the investment companies make in IT security to prevent these attacks may maintain shareholder value for these companies.

Details: Oxford, UK: Oxford Economics, 2014. 79p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 25, 2014 at: http://www.cpni.gov.uk/documents/publications/2014/oxford-economics-cyber-effects-uk-companies.pdf?epslanguage=en-gb

Year: 2014

Country: United Kingdom

URL: http://www.cpni.gov.uk/documents/publications/2014/oxford-economics-cyber-effects-uk-companies.pdf?epslanguage=en-gb

Shelf Number: 133418

Keywords:
Commercial Crimes
Computer Crimes
Costs of Crime
Crimes Against Businesses
Cyber Security
Cybercrime (U.K.)
Economic Analysis
Economic Crimes

Author: International Tax and Investment Center

Title: Asia-14: Illicit Tobacco Indicator 2013

Summary: This study is an update and expansion of our previous research, 'Asia-11 Illicit Tobacco Indicator 2012'. In light of newly available data sources, it has been possible to extend the coverage to include Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar, resulting in full coverage of the 10 ASEAN member countries plus Australia, Hong Kong, Pakistan, and Taiwan. In 2013, 10.9% of cigarettes consumed in Asia-141 were illicit Total Consumption (legal and illicit) across the Asia-14 was an estimated 760.1 billion cigarettes in 2013. Of this, 10.9% or 82.8 billion cigarettes in Asia-14 were estimated to have been illicit. In ASEAN, Total Consumption was an estimated 608.2 billion cigarettes in 2013. Of this, 9.1% or 55.6 billion cigarettes were estimated to have been illicit. In 2013, the share of Illicit Consumption increased in 7 of the 11 markets that were part of the 'Asia-11 Illicit Tobacco Indicator 2012' report Nearly three quarters of Illicit Consumption occurred in just three markets: Pakistan (22.8% Illicit), the Philippines (18.1%), and Vietnam (20.7%). In the 11 markets for which estimates are available for both 2012 and 2013 (i.e., the 'Asia-11'), Illicit Consumption is estimated to have increased by 20.1%, from 66.5 billion cigarettes to 79.9 billion cigarettes (an increase of 13.4 billion cigarettes). This was driven primarily by the rise in Illicit Consumption in the Philippines (by 12.7 billion cigarettes, an increase of 198%), underpinned by significant growth in Domestic Illicit Consumption. 7 markets (Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam) saw an increase in the share of Illicit Consumption in Total Consumption of cigarettes between 2012 and 2013. The steepest rise was again in the Philippines. However, Pakistan, and Singapore saw noticeable declines in the share of Illicit Consumption in 2013, the former a result of declining Domestic Illicit volumes, and the latter a consequence of a decline in Contraband. In both cases, however, the share of Illicit Consumption in Total Consumption remained much higher than the Asia-14 average. Domestic and Non Domestic Illicit both contributed to the rise in Illicit Consumption in Asia There was a 181.2% rise in Domestic Illicit Consumption in the Philippines (equal to 11.0 billion cigarettes). A small amount of Domestic Illicit was also identified in Indonesia in 2013. A number of markets saw a rise in Non-Domestic Illicit cigarettes in 2013. Consumption of Contraband cigarettes increased in Indonesia and Taiwan, while consumption of Counterfeit cigarettes rose sharply in the Philippines. There were increases in Non-Domestic Illicit of Unspecified Market Variant in Australia and Vietnam. Asia-14 government tax revenue losses from Illicit Consumption totalled US$ 3.9 billion in 2013 The tax loss associated with Illicit Consumption of cigarettes increased in 6 markets compared with 2012. In the 11 markets for which estimates are available for both 2012 and 2013, the estimated tax loss from Illicit Consumption increased from US$ 3.4 billion in 2012 to US$ 3.9 billion, an increase of 13.8%. The largest rise in tax loss in absolute terms was in the Philippines (497%). Australia and Indonesia also experienced a significant rise in estimated tax losses from Illicit Consumption. The government tax revenue losses from Illicit Consumption in the ASEAN region totalled US$ 2.1 billion in 2013.

Details: Oxford, UK: Oxford Economics, 2014. 220p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 8, 2014 at: http://www.pmi.com/eng/tobacco_regulation/illicit_trade/Documents/Asia-14%20Illicit%20Tobacco%20Indicator%202013.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: Asia

URL: http://www.pmi.com/eng/tobacco_regulation/illicit_trade/Documents/Asia-14%20Illicit%20Tobacco%20Indicator%202013.pdf

Shelf Number: 134222

Keywords:
Cigarettes
Contraband
Economic Crimes
Financial Crimes
Illegal Markets
Illegal Tobacco
Illicit Products (Asia)
Illicit Tobacco
Tax Evasion

Author: International Tax and Investment Center

Title: Asia-11: Illicit Tobacco Indicator 2012

Summary: In 2012, 9% of cigarettes consumed in Asia-11 were illicit Total Consumption (legal and illicit) across the Asia-111 markets covered in this report totalled an estimated 736.4 billion cigarettes in 2012, of which 9.0% or 66.5 billion cigarettes are estimated to have been illicit. This includes consumption of illicit imports and illicit products locally manufactured, such as under/non-declared products from local manufacturers. Illicit share was over 25% in five markets Brunei, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Pakistan all had estimated shares of illicit cigarettes in Total Consumption of over 25% in 2012. Illicit volumes were highest in Pakistan, Vietnam, and Malaysia In 2012, in both Vietnam and Pakistan, Illicit Consumption was over 20 billion cigarettes. In Malaysia the volume of illicit cigarettes was estimated at almost 8 billion. Domestic illicit cigarette volumes were highest in Pakistan and the Philippines In Pakistan and the Philippines, illicit cigarettes produced by local manufacturers and sold in the market without payment of taxes totalled an estimated 25 billion cigarettes in 2012. Asia-11 government tax revenue losses from Illicit Consumption totaled US$ 3.4 billion in 2012 The biggest tax losses in absolute terms occurred in Australia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Vietnam.

Details: Oxford, UK: Oxford Economics, 2013. 132p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 8, 2014 at: http://www.pmi.com/eng/tobacco_regulation/illicit_trade/Documents/Asia_11_Illicit_Tobacco_Indicator_2012.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: Asia

URL: http://www.pmi.com/eng/tobacco_regulation/illicit_trade/Documents/Asia_11_Illicit_Tobacco_Indicator_2012.pdf

Shelf Number: 133908

Keywords:
Cigarettes
Contraband
Economic Crimes
Financial Crimes
Illegal Markets
Illegal Tobacco
Illicit Products (Asia)
Illicit Tobacco
Tax Evasion

Author: International Tax and Investment Center

Title: Asia-11: Illicit Tobacco Indicator: 2013 Update for the Philippines

Summary: Excise rates on the majority of cigarettes in the Philippines (Low-tax tier) rose by 341% on 1st January 2013. Excise rates on brands in the Mid-tax tier increased by 231%, while "premium-price" brands (High-tax tier) saw an increase of 108% in excise rates. This tax increase has contributed to a 59% rise in the pack price of the most sold brands in both the "low-price" and "premium-price" segments. The price increase on the most sold brand in the "super-low price" segment was highest at 175%. Legal Domestic Sales dropped almost 16% in 2013 from a year earlier. However, this decline was almost fully offset by an increased level of Illicit Consumption. As a result, Total Consumption (legal and illicit) was only down 3% in 2013. There has been a sharp rise in Illicit Consumption from 5.9% in 2012 to an estimated 18.1% of Total Consumption or 19.1 billion cigarettes in 2013. This rise primarily relates to increased consumption of Domestic Illicit cigarettes, which has risen sharply from 5.6% of Total Consumption in 2012 to an estimated 16.3% of Total Consumption or 17.1 billion cigarettes in 2013. There has also been an 800% increase in the consumption of Counterfeit cigarettes, which accounted for 1.8% of Total Consumption or 1.8 billion cigarettes in 2013, compared to 0.2% of Total Consumption in 2012. The cigarette tax revenue loss (excise and VAT) has risen to PHP 15.6 billion in 2013, representing an increase of 497% compared to 2012.

Details: Oxford, UK: Oxford Economics, 2014. 32p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 9, 2014 at: http://www.oxfordeconomics.com/Media/Default/landing-pages/asia11/report-asia11-2014.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: Philippines

URL: http://www.oxfordeconomics.com/Media/Default/landing-pages/asia11/report-asia11-2014.pdf

Shelf Number: 134220

Keywords:
Cigarettes (Philippines)
Contraband
Economic Crimes
Financial Crimes
Illegal Markets
Illegal Tobacco
Illicit Products
Illicit Tobacco
Tax Evasion

Author: PriceWaterhouseCoopers

Title: Economic Crime: A threat to business globally

Summary: It comes as no surprise to learn that economic crime - such as fraud, IP infringement, corruption, cybercrime, or accounting fraud - continues to be a major concern for organisations of all sizes, across all regions and in virtually every sector. But, as our 2014 Global Economic Crime Survey reveals, the real story is not so much that economic crime stubbornly persists. The real story is that economic crime is threatening your business processes, eroding the integrity of your employees, and tarnishing your reputation. Which is why this year's report, one of the broadest and most comprehensive economic crime surveys we have ever conducted - with over 5,000 global respondents - is focused not only on breaking down the facts, figures, trends and regions, but also on analysing how and where it may be affecting you. So you can address the issue from both a preventive and strategic perspective. We invite you to explore the rich trove of data, trends and analysis of economic crime uncovered by our 2014 Global Economic Crime Survey - and contact us to learn more

Details: s.l.: PWC, 2015. 57p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 15, 2015 at: http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/economic-crime-survey/downloads.jhtml

Year: 2015

Country: International

URL: http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/economic-crime-survey/downloads.jhtml

Shelf Number: 136069

Keywords:
Cybercrime
Economic Crimes
Financial Crimes
Fraud

Author: Frontier Economics

Title: The economic and social impacts of counterfeiting and piracy in Turkey

Summary: This study is the first attempt to estimate the magnitude and costs of counterfeiting in Turkey. The magnitude of counterfeiting in the economy includes the value of imported, domestically produced, and digitally retrieved counterfeit products, and adds up to 1% of the GDP. The costs of counterfeiting include tax losses, additional welfare payments, health costs, as well as costs to the wider economy such as lost FDI and exports. Estimates on employment losses due to all these factors also are included. These estimates are based on a Frontier-developed methodology that is built on work by the OECD, and show that counterfeiting is a serious problem for Turkey. Counterfeiting is not only a law enforcement issue, but is also a core problem that is relevant for economic policy-makers. The recently published Global Competitiveness Report 2011-12 by the World Economic Forum classifies Turkey as a transition economy passing from an efficiency-driven to innovation-driven stage. Completing this transition will necessitate a tough stance against counterfeiting. Firms in an efficiency-driven economy compete and grow by cutting down costs, while firms in an innovation-driven economy compete and grow by creating unique value at the global level. Illicit entities that produce counterfeit products may "compete" on cost, but they cannot act as building blocks of an innovation-driven economy. They are destined to stay as small enterprises that generate little or self-employment with low wages, all the while skirting the law. Entities involved in counterfeiting are necessarily driven into informal, illicit markets. They are excluded not only from the tax collection system, but also from the global manufacturing value-chains of modern corporations that bring local firms opportunities to scale up to the global level. Needless to say, informal firms have limited access to bank credit and venture capital, further limiting their growth prospects. If the Turkish economy is to upgrade to an innovation-driven stage, it will be based on high-impact enterprises that are able to scale-up to the global level by creating unique value. Only firms that are not involved in counterfeiting can acquire and retain global customers and investors in the long-run. It is natural to see this value be distributed to wider society in form of larger employment with higher wages. This is why avoiding counterfeiting should be an economic-policy priority. Tackling counterfeiting is a difficult challenge. It requires not only close enforcement, but the necessary incentives to create long-lasting transformation in the habits of entrepreneurs. To create a policy environment against counterfeiting requires a high level of policy coordination among different departments in the government. Dialogue and coordination among the ministries of Culture and Tourism, Justice, Health, the Interior, Economy, Customs and Trade, as well as institutions such as the Turkish Patent Institute and the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), as well as between public institutions and private sector representatives are essential. To ensure coordination and dialogue among so many different agents, political will is critical. This report is a first step in building this political will by revealing the large magnitude and long list of costs associated with counterfeiting and piracy in Turkey.

Details: Ankara: BASCAP (Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy, 2011. 43p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 16, 2015 at: www.iccwbo.org

Year: 2011

Country: Turkey

URL: www.iccwbo.org

Shelf Number: 137281

Keywords:
Counterfeit Products
Counterfeiting
Economic Crimes
Financial Crimes
Illicit Markets
Pirated Goods

Author: Frontier Economics

Title: Estimating the Global Economic and Social Impacts of Counterfeiting and Piracy

Summary: Government efforts to stabilize the economy and stimulate economic growth, trade and employment must include the critical and pervasive role that intellectual property (IP) protection plays in driving, innovation, development and jobs. The massive infiltration of counterfeit and pirated products, or IP theft, creates an enormous drain on the global economy - crowding out billions in legitimate economic activity and facilitating an "underground economy" that deprives governments of revenues for vital public services, forces higher burdens on tax payers, dislocates hundreds of thousands of legitimate jobs and exposes consumers to dangerous and ineffective products. Reliable information on the scope, scale, costs and impacts of counterfeiting and piracy is critical for helping policymakers to better understand that the trade in fake goods is damaging their economies, threatening the health and safety of their citizens and stifling innovation and creativity. Policymakers with better information on of how counterfeiting and piracy undermine IP, innovation, economic growth and employment are better able to make the fight against IP theft a higher public policy priority and take the actions needed to prevent the damage inflicted by counterfeiting and piracy. In this regard, government efforts to strengthen IP enforcement regimes can more appropriately be considered as investments that pay tangible dividends to economic development and society. Because counterfeiters and pirates operate outside the law, estimating the extent of counterfeiting and piracy and the harm these activities cause is extremely challenging. Illegal businesses do not report information on their activities to any government agency so measuring their size must be done using indirect methods. For this reason, Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP), an initiative of the International Chamber of Commerce, is commissioning experts (including Frontier for this report) to examine the issue and to develop methodologies for estimating the economic and social impacts of counterfeiting and piracy. No one report or approach will yield a complete picture or provide all the answers, but BASCAP is committed to learning from as many sources of expertise as possible.

Details: Paris: BASCAP (Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy), 2011. 61p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 16, 2015 at: www.iccwbo.org

Year: 2011

Country: International

URL: www.iccwbo.org

Shelf Number: 137282

Keywords:
Counterfeit Goods
Counterfeiting
Economic Crimes
Fake Goods
Financial Crimes
Pirated Products

Author: Levi, Michael

Title: The Implications of Economic Cybercrime for Policing

Summary: London, as one of the world's leading financial centres, had a daily turnover in the foreign exchange market of L2,626 billion in April 2013 - all dependent on a highly interconnected electronic infrastructure and supporting technology. Yet this same technology that underpins and enables these global transactions also opens up businesses and individuals to new risks, in particular relating to cybercrime. The introduction of sophisticated technology has brought about a step-change in the way economic crime is committed - enabling frauds to be perpetrated at scale, at great speed, and at a distance, with no physical contact necessary between criminal and victim. It can be much harder to identify the individuals initiating crime, and often the location will be outside UK jurisdiction. These factors have resulted in a sharp escalation of such activities in recent years, bringing new challenges for policing and industry in preventing and tackling such crime. The City of London Police is the National Policing Lead for Economic Crime, and is playing a key role in proactively addressing these challenges including developing a national strategy. One major challenge has been coordinating information about criminal activity where this can be geographically widely dispersed. In addition to investigating some of the most serious frauds in the country, the City of London Police hosts the national reporting database - Action Fraud. This current research piece undertakes new analysis of data held by Action Fraud and its partner unit, the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) also hosted by the City of London Police. It finds that between October and December 2014 alone there were 106,681 reported fraud cases, a third of which related to banking and credit industry frauds. The median amount lost to fraudsters across all fraud types ranged from L112 lost through misuse of contracts in the telecom industry, to 38,974 lost from pension fraud. However the annual 250,000 crime reports received present only a limited view of several million crimes that are taking place within the UK annually to the cost of some $30billion. Under-reporting presents a challenge both in terms of research and policy responses. City of London Police initiatives to reduce fraud include training both the private and public sector in specialist skills through their Economic Crime Academy, piloting a focused victim care unit in London - the Economic Crime Victim Care Unit - and working closely with law enforcement across the UK to share information and co-ordinate action. Most importantly they include the formation of new national police fraud and cyber strategies focused on prevention at a national and local level. This research report highlights the necessity of working in partnership, both around primary prevention and building in security protection, and working with other agencies to disrupt criminal activities and pursue and prosecute offenders.

Details: London: City of London Corporation, 2015. 96p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 8, 2016 at: https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/business/economic-research-and-information/research-publications/Documents/Research-2015/Economic-Cybercrime-FullReport.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: United Kingdom

URL: https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/business/economic-research-and-information/research-publications/Documents/Research-2015/Economic-Cybercrime-FullReport.pdf

Shelf Number: 137785

Keywords:
Computer Crimes
Computer Fraud
Cybercrimes
Economic Crimes
Financial Crimes
Internet Crimes
Police Technology

Author: Sharples, Natalie

Title: Honest Accounts? The true story of Africa's billion dollar losses

Summary: The Global South is being drained of resources by the rest of the world and it is losing far more each year than it gains. Africa alone loses $192 billion each year to the rest of the world. This is mainly in profits made by foreign companies, tax dodging and the costs of adapting to climate change. Whilst rich countries often talk about the aid their countries give to Africa, this is in fact less than $30 billion each year. Even when you add this to foreign investment, remittances and other resources that flow into the continent, Africa still suffers an overall loss of $58 billion every year. The idea that we are aiding Africa is flawed; it is Africa that is aiding the rest of the world. This money that Africa loses each year is over one and half times the amount of additional money needed to deliver affordable health care to everyone in the world. If the rest of the world continues to raid Africa at the same rate, over the next 10 years $580 billion will be lost by the African people. Many of Africa's loses directly benefit rich countries. They are a result of policies and practices that drain Africa and keep its people in poverty. These include tax dodging, unfair trade policies and the practices of multinational companies, and the brain drain of skilled workers.

Details: London: Health Poverty Action, 2015. 40p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 16, 2016 at: https://www.healthpovertyaction.org/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2014/08/Honest-Accounts-report-web-FINAL.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: Africa

URL: https://www.healthpovertyaction.org/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2014/08/Honest-Accounts-report-web-FINAL.pdf

Shelf Number: 138264

Keywords:
Economic Crimes
Poverty
Tax Evasion

Author: Jorna, Penny

Title: Fraud within the Commonwealth: A census of the most costly incidents, 2010-11 to 2012-13

Summary: Fraud against the Commonwealth is defined as 'dishonestly obtaining a benefit or causing a loss, by deception or other means'. This definition is set out in the current Commonwealth Resource Management Guide (no. 201) Preventing, detecting and dealing with fraud, issued by the Australian Government Minister for Justice (2014). This form of fraud may be committed by individuals who do not work for government bodies, such as those who dishonestly claim benefits or some other financial advantage (external fraud), or by those employed by entities including staff and contractors (internal fraud). Fraud may also involve collaboration between internal and external parties. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of the nature of internal fraud against the Commonwealth, and the personal background details of those alleged to have committed the deception. It reports on the results of an annual census of Commonwealth entities which collected information on the single 'most costly' incident of internal fraud that they experienced in 2010-11 to 2012-13. During these years, 137 Commonwealth entities reported 7,809 incidents of internal fraud. Of these, 125 chose one incident each year that they considered their most costly internal fraud. Information was provided on how and why fraud was committed, estimated financial losses involved, the personal circumstances of the principal alleged perpetrators, and how the incidents were dealt with in terms of investigation, prosecution and judicial outcomes. Most incidents involved non-corporate Commonwealth entities (formerly governed under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (Cth) see Table 1). Entities with more than 1,000 staff contributed more incidents for this study than smaller bodies.

Details: Sydney: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2016. 15p.

Source: Internet Resource: Research in Practice No. 41: http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/rip/rip41/rip41.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: Australia

URL: http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/rip/rip41/rip41.pdf

Shelf Number: 138318

Keywords:
Crimes against Businesses
Economic Crimes
Financial Crimes
Fraud and Corruption

Author: Hafner, Marco

Title: The Cost of Non-Europe in the area of Organised Crime and Corruption: Annex II - Corruption

Summary: Corruption is a phenomenon with significant negative consequences for the EU and its Member States. This research paper uses a mix of methodologies to quantify the overall costs of corruption in the EU in economic, social and political terms. The findings, based on new analysis, suggest that corruption costs the EU between L179bn and L990bn in GDP terms on an annual basis. Current anti-corruption measures relevant to Member States and the EU as a whole are described and their effectiveness in reducing the levels of, and opportunities for, corruption are assessed. Eight potential areas for EU action are identified that might address the barriers to the effectiveness of current measures. The costs of non-Europe are calculated in relation to two of these, as well as in relation to the implementation of recently created EU laws.

Details: Brussels: European Parliament Research Survey, 2016. 157p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 25, 2016 at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/579319/EPRS_STU(2016)579319_EN.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: Europe

URL: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/579319/EPRS_STU(2016)579319_EN.pdf

Shelf Number: 138412

Keywords:
Corruption
Costs of Corruption
Economic Crimes
Fraud

Author: PriceWaterhouseCoopers

Title: Adjusting the Lens on Economic Crime: preparation brings opportunity back into focus

Summary: More than a third of organisations have experienced economic crime in the past 24 months, as reported by over 6,000 respondents to PwC's Global Economic Crime Survey 2016. This year's results show that the incidence of economic crime has come down, for the first time since the global financial crisis of 2008-9 (albeit marginally by 1%). At first glance, this could be evidence of a return on the investments in the preventative measures which organisations have been making over the past few years. But as we look at the data more closely, it is possible that this small decrease is actually masking a worrying trend: that economic crime is changing significantly, but that detection and controls programmes are not keeping up with the pace of change. What's more, the financial cost of each fraud is on the rise. This year's report illustrates how economic crime has evolved over the last two years, morphing into different forms depending on industrial sector and region. Despite this evolving threat, we have seen a decrease in the detection of criminal activity by methods within management's control, with detection through corporate controls down by 7%. What's more, one in five organisations (22%) have not carried out a single fraud risk assessment in the last 24 months. When looked at in the context of the findings in PwC's 19th Annual Global CEO Survey - where two-thirds of chief executives agreed that there are more threats to the growth of their company than ever before (a sharp increase, compared to 59% in 2015) - this points to a potentially worrying trend: that too much is being left to chance. In fact, our findings indicate that one in ten economic crimes are discovered by accident.

Details: s.l.: PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2016. 56p.

Source: Internet Resource: Global Economic Crime Survey 2016: Accessed March 29, 2016 at: http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/economic-crime-survey/pdf/GlobalEconomicCrimeSurvey2016.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: International

URL: http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/economic-crime-survey/pdf/GlobalEconomicCrimeSurvey2016.pdf

Shelf Number: 138456

Keywords:
Cybercrime
Economic Crimes
Financial Crimes
Fraud

Author: Carrera, Sergio

Title: The Cost of Non-Europe in the Area of Organised Crime and Corruption: Annex I - Organised Crime

Summary: This Research Paper examines the costs of non-Europe in the field of organised crime. It provides an interdisciplinary analysis of the main legal/ethical, socio-political and economic costs and benefits of the EU in policies on organised crime. It offers an in-depth examination of the transformative contribution that the EU has made, in terms of investigation, prosecution and efficiency, to trans-border operational activities and the protection of its citizens' rights. Finally, it seeks to answer the questions of what are the costs and benefits of European cooperation and what forms of cooperation would bring more European added value.

Details: Brussels: European Parliamentary Research Service, 2016. 177p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 30, 2016 at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/579318/EPRS_STU(2016)579318_EN.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: Europe

URL: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/579318/EPRS_STU(2016)579318_EN.pdf

Shelf Number: 138492

Keywords:
Costs of Crime
Counterfeiting
Cybercrime
Drug Trafficking
Economic Crimes
Environmental Crime
Human trafficking
Organized Crime
Weapons Trafficking

Author: Avis, Eric

Title: Do Government Audits Reduce Corruption? Estimating the Impacts of Exposing Corrupt Politicians

Summary: Political corruption is considered a major impediment to economic development, and yet it remains pervasive throughout the world. This paper examines the extent to which government audits of public resources can reduce corruption by enhancing political and judiciary accountability. We do so in the context of Brazil's anti-corruption program, which randomly audits municipalities for their use of federal funds. We find that being audited in the past reduces future corruption by 8 percent, while also increasing the likelihood of experiencing a subsequent legal action by 20 percent. We interpret these reduced-form findings through a political agency model, which we structurally estimate. Based on our estimated model, the reduction in corruption comes mostly from the audits increasing the perceived threat of the non-electoral costs of engaging in corruption.

Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2016. 50p.

Source: Internet Resource: NBER Working Paper 22443: Accessed July 25, 2016 at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w22443.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: Brazil

URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w22443.pdf

Shelf Number: 139820

Keywords:
Economic Crimes
Financial crimes
Political Corruption

Author: U.S. Government Accountability Office

Title: Financial Institutions: Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures for Violations of Financial Crimes and Sanctions Requirements

Summary: Over the last few years, billions of dollars have been collected in fines, penalties, and forfeitures assessed against financial institutions for violations of requirements related to financial crimes. These requirements are significant tools that help the federal government detect and disrupt money laundering, terrorist financing, bribery, corruption, and violations of U.S. sanctions programs. GAO was asked to review the collection and use of these fines, penalties , and forfeitures assessed against financial institutions for violations of these requirements - specifically, BSA/AML, FCPA, and U.S. sanctions programs requirements . T his report describes (1) the amounts collected by the federal government for these violations , and (2) the process for collecting these funds and the purposes for which they are used. GAO analyzed agency data, reviewed documentation on agency collection processes and on authorized uses of the funds in which collections are deposited, and reviewed relevant laws. GAO also interviewed officials from Treasury (including the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Office of Foreign Assets Control ), Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Justice, and the federal banking regulators. GAO is not making r ecommendations in this report

Details: Washington, DC: GAO, 2016. 42p.

Source: Internet Resource: GAO-16-297: Accessed August 2, 2016 at: http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/675987.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: United States

URL: http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/675987.pdf

Shelf Number: 139943

Keywords:
Criminal Fines
Economic Crimes
Financial Crime
Money Laundering

Author: Ghazi-Tehrani, Adam Kavon

Title: Corporate Crime and State Legitimacy: Non-Issue Making in The 2008 Chinese Melamine Milk Scandal

Summary: While the study of corporate crime began nearly seventy years ago, academic access to Asian countries, and China in particular, has become available only in the past two decades. The growing economic crime rate in China remains a difficult area of research, but recent studies demonstrate the impact China's economic reform on crime in general. This study aims to apply western corporate crime and state theories to China in an effort to explain both China's economic crime rate and the government's response. This qualitative study draws on information about the 2008 melamine milk scandal from both Chinese and western newspapers, as well as scholarly journals. An analysis of these sources reveals China is similar to the United States of America and other developed nations: economic crime is tolerated if that crime provides a direct benefit for the offending corporation and indirect benefit for the state. China's authoritarian government increases this tolerance as the state is able to both censor the media and use force to prevent social movements, liberties that have a dampening effect on economic crime in western democracies. This implies that without a liberalization of government to match the liberalization of economy, China's economic crime rate will remain high.

Details: Irvine, CA: University of California, Irvine, 2011. 50p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 1, 2016 at: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/0gn810gj

Year: 2012

Country: China

URL: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/0gn810gj

Shelf Number: 145781

Keywords:
Corporate Crime
Economic Crimes
White-Collar Crime

Author: Frontier Economics

Title: The Economic Impacts of Counterfeiting and Piracy. Report prepared for BASCAP and INTA

Summary: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Counterfeiting and piracy are highly pervasive across countries and sectors, representing a multi-Billion-dollar industry globally that continues to grow. Measuring the scale of counterfeiting and piracy helps us to understand the size of the problem, and the related social costs. It also helps inform policymakers so that they can target resources appropriately towards combating counterfeiting and piracy. 1.1 Extending the findings of the OECD/EUIPO Our starting point is the recent work undertaken by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to measure the extent of piracy and counterfeiting in international trade. The OECD/EUIPO Report builds on a previous, ground-breaking study by the OECD in 2008. Since the publication of the initial report, researchers at the OECD have been able to bring significant enhancements to their research methodology, including improved econometric modelling, greater magnitudes of data and increased primary data from customs experts. The OECD/EUIPO estimates that trade in counterfeit and pirated products accounted for as much as 2.5% of the value of international trade, or $461 Billion, in 2013.2 Notably, this figure represents an increase of more than 80% over the OECD's findings in 2008. Our report seeks to quantify the global value of counterfeiting and piracy and related economic and social costs. As revealing as the OECD/EUIPO Report is, its focus is on one specific aspect of counterfeiting and piracy: the international trade of counterfeits across borders. We therefore draw on and extend the OECD/EUIPO Report to include additional types and impacts of counterfeiting and piracy delineated, but not quantified, in their analysis. Specifically, this study quantifies three additional categories of losses: (i) the value of domestically produced and consumed counterfeit goods, (ii) the value of digital piracy, and (iii) wider economic impacts. Our approach and analysis is a follow-on study from our 2011 report for BASCAP, which built on the OECD's 2008 analysis. Our analysis consists of the following four dimensions. - Quadrant 1: Internationally traded counterfeit and pirated goods. We reprise the OECD/EUIPO's recent estimates of the value of counterfeit and pirated physical goods in international trade. This captures the value of counterfeit goods that cross international borders. We also develop projections of this value to 2022. - Quadrant 2: Domestically produced and consumed counterfeit and pirated goods. We estimate the value of domestically produced and consumed counterfeit and pirated goods using the findings of the OECD/EUIPO Report as a starting point. This captures the value of counterfeits that are produced and consumed within the borders of a country. - Quadrant 3: Piracy distributed through the Internet, mainly by peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing and streaming. We estimate the value of digital piracy in film, music, and software, which is not captured in the OECD/EUIPO Report as it is based on physically traded goods. Our analysis draws on industry data and studies. - Quadrant 4: Wider economic and social impacts. Building on the magnitudes calculated in quadrants 1-3, we measure related economic and social impacts of counterfeiting and piracy. Specifically, we: - Develop an econometric estimate of the impact of counterfeiting and piracy on foregone economic growth. □ Present effects of the displacement by counterfeiting and pirating activities of legitimate activities on employment, FDI, and sales tax revenues. - Estimate costs of criminality related to counterfeiting and pirating activities 1.2 Key findings Our analysis shows that the scale of counterfeiting and piracy globally is large, that it has grown since previous estimates, and that this growth is expected to continue. Our estimates of these values across all four quadrants are shown in Table 1.S below. We estimate that the value of international and domestic trade in counterfeit and pirated goods in 2013 was $710 -$ 917 Billion. We estimate that, in addition to this, the global value of digital piracy in movies, music and software in 2015 3 was $213 Billion. We estimated wider economic costs associated with the effects of counterfeiting and piracy on the displacement of legitimate economic activity. This estimate also provides a starting point for inferring fiscal losses. We also estimated the effects of counterfeiting and piracy on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and crime. We find significant effects on the job market through the displacement of legitimate economic activity by counterfeiting and piracy. We estimate net job losses in 2013 to lie, globally, between 2 and 2.6 million, and we project net job losses of 4.2 to 5.4 million by 2022. We also estimated the effects of changes in the incidence of counterfeiting and piracy on economic growth. Our econometric model, estimating the impact of changes in the intensity of counterfeiting and piracy on economic growth, suggests that a percentage point reduction in the intensity of counterfeiting and piracy would be worth between $30 Billion to $54 Billion in 2017 for the 35 OECD countries. Our forward projections begin with OECD/EUIPO's estimates of international trade in counterfeit and pirated goods, augmented by forecasts of growth in import volumes and the ratio of customs seizures to real imports. Using these, we forecast that the value of trade in counterfeit and pirated goods could reach $991 Billion by 2022. We carry out a similar exercise to illustrate how the size of domestic production and consumption of counterfeit and pirated goods may change over time. We use data on recent and forecast rates of growth in global trade and GDP, and projected growth in the rate of counterfeiting. Using this approach, we forecast that the value of domestically produced and consumed counterfeit and pirated goods could range from $524 - $959 Billion by 2022. Applying the methodology used in our previous study, we combine two different approaches to project digital piracy into the future. The first approach assumes that digital piracy will maintain its share of total counterfeiting and piracy over time. The second approach assumes that digital piracy grows proportionally to global IP traffic. Combining these two approaches, we forecast that the value of digital piracy in movies, music and software could reach from $384 - $856 Billion by 2022.

Details: Brussels: Frontier Economics, 2017. 61p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 14, 2017 at: http://www.inta.org/Communications/Documents/2017_Frontier_Report.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: Europe

URL: http://www.inta.org/Communications/Documents/2017_Frontier_Report.pdf

Shelf Number: 144910

Keywords:
Counterfeit Goods
Counterfeiting
Digital Piracy
Economic Crimes
Fake Goods
Financial Crimes
Pirated Products

Author: Australia. The Treasury

Title: Black Economy Taskforce. Interim report

Summary: The black economy is a significant, complex and growing economic and social problem. Black economy activities: undermine the community's trust in the tax system; create an unfair commercial environment which penalises businesses and individuals doing the right thing; enable and entrench the exploitation of vulnerable workers; undermine tax revenue; and enable abuse of the welfare system. If unchecked, increasing black economy participation can lead to a dangerous dynamic. It can foster a culture which legitimises and supports this participation, spurring its further growth. As revenues fall, those remaining in the formal economy may ultimately be faced with higher tax burdens, giving them a greater incentive to move into the shadows. All other OECD countries are grappling with the black economy issue. Australia is not alone. While the black economy is a long-standing problem, new vulnerabilities and threats are emerging as a result of fundamental economic, social and technological changes. The high cost of tax and non-tax regulatory burdens, pressure on business margins, the proliferation of new business models (including the sharing economy) and forms of work, complex interactions with illegal activities, exploitation of workers (including migrants), and changing social norms are influencing this landscape. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) estimated in 2012 that the black economy had grown to 1.5 per cent of GDP ($25 billion per year in today's dollars) in Australia. In the absence of a concerted and sustained whole-of-government effort, this figure can be expected to continue to grow. Given the linkages between different manifestations of the black economy, long-term multi-agency strategies and operations are needed. We must move beyond the business as usual mindset, recognising the limitations of traditional tax enforcement approaches. There is a clear need to act now. Community views on tax avoidance and evasion (particularly by large firms and multinationals) have noticeably hardened in recent years. At the same time, businesses, both large and small, are operating in a more competitive commercial environment, tempting some to push the boundaries (in their supply chain management, use of contractors and payment of wages). But this challenge is also an opportunity. With the intelligent application of emerging technologies, better use of data and a genuine whole-of-government focus, the tools we need are available. It is not too late, but we need to act now rather than wait. Business as usual is not an option. We can't audit our way out of this problem through traditional means. We have seen considerable innovation from other OECD countries in this area. A 21st century black economy strategy is needed in this country. The Black Economy Taskforce is a partnership between Australian Government agencies and the private sector. It is led by an independent chair and supported by a Secretariat in the Commonwealth Treasury. The Government has asked the Taskforce to develop a forward-looking, innovative and whole-of-government black economy strategy. This is our Interim Report, which sets out our initial findings and identifies a number of early actions. Our Final Report will be delivered to the Government in October 2017.

Details: Canberra: The Taskforce, 2017. 74p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 1, 2017 at: https://consult.treasury.gov.au/tax-framework-division/black-economy-taskforce/supporting_documents/BE_IR.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: Australia

URL: https://consult.treasury.gov.au/tax-framework-division/black-economy-taskforce/supporting_documents/BE_IR.pdf

Shelf Number: 146999

Keywords:
Black Economy
Economic Crimes
Financial Crimes
Tax Evasion
Underground Economy

Author: Malhotra, Anjana

Title: Ironbound Underground: Wage Theft and Workplace Violations Among Day Laborers in Newark's East Ward

Summary: Day laborers are workers who are employed on a day-by-day, temporary basis. Each morning, at informal hiring sites throughout the country known as "shape-up sites," day laborers and employers negotiate short-term employment arrangements in an "open-air market." For employers, these day labor markets provide easy access to a large pool of workers that they can hire when needed and release them when not. While there is limited official information on the nature and size of the day laborer workforce, the United States Government Accounting Office ("U.S. GAO") and the 2004 National Day Labor Survey indicate that the day laborer community consists of mostly males with limited English proficiency that have recently migrated to the United States. Government reports and national surveys indicate that on any given day there are approximately 117,600 to 260,000 day laborers looking for work in the United States. Day laborers work in many different industries, including manual labor, construction, landscaping, moving, and food services. Homeowners also frequently employ day laborers for simple maintenance and home improvement projects. In the State of New Jersey, day laborers are entitled to the same legal protections that apply to all workers, regardless of immigration status. However, both federal government reports and the New Jersey Governor's Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel on Immigrant Policy have found that day laborers are among the most economically vulnerable workers. Day laborers are exposed to workplace abuses because they are often unaware of their rights, fearful of complaining to authorities, have limited English proficiency, and work in high risk jobs. U.S. government reports have also found that due to inadequate data on day laborers, state and local government agencies responsible for enforcing workplace laws have failed to appropriately investigate workplace violations or enforce day laborers' workplace rights. This report attempts to fill this information gap by profiling for the first time, the large contingent of day laborers that congregate daily in the Ironbound section of Newark to look for work. Following intake, and know your rights sessions, the Immigrant Workers' Rights Clinic ("IWR Clinic") at Seton Hall University Law School's Center for Social Justice systematically investigated and analyzed the status of day laborers in the Ironbound section of Newark for this comprehensive report. Between February and April 2010, the IWR Clinic under supervision of Anjana Malhotra and Bryan Lonegan studied the problem by engaging directly with community leaders, government officials, police officers, business owners, national and local experts, and the day laborers themselves. The IWR Clinic observed and documented conditions at the Ironbound site where workers gather for work each morning on a daily basis, regularly attended several of the day laborers' weekly meetings and conducted a survey of approximately half of the workers at the Ironbound site. As a result of its investigation, the IWR Clinic found that the Ironbound Day Laborers Endure a Significant Level of Workplace Violations, Especially in Wage Theft; the Financial Loss to the Workers Due to Wage Theft is Substantial; Workers Have Limited Recourse to Obtain Unpaid Wages; and Working Conditions and the Transient Nature of the Ironbound Shape-Up Site is Dangerous.

Details: Newark: Seton Hall University School of Law, 2010. 28p.

Source: Internet Resource: Seton Hall University School of Law 254274: Accessed February 14, 2018 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2413032

Year: 2010

Country: United States

URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2413032

Shelf Number: 149148

Keywords:
Day Laborers
Economic Crimes
Financial Crimes
Immigrants
Wage Theft
Worker Exploitation

Author: PriceWaterhouseCoopers

Title: Pulling fraud out of the shadows: Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey 1028

Summary: PwC's 2018 Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey finds that 49% of global organisations say they've experienced economic crime in the past two years. But what about the other 51%? Have they avoided falling victim - or simply don't know about it? Since fraud hides in the shadows, one of the most powerful weapons in a fraudster's armoury is a lack of awareness within organisations. It's time for all businesses to recognise the true nature of the threat: not as just a nuisance or cost of doing business, but a shadow industry with tentacles in every country, sector and function

Details: s.l.: PWC, 2018. 29p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 12, 2018 at: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/services/advisory/forensics/economic-crime-survey.html

Year: 2018

Country: International

URL: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/services/advisory/forensics/economic-crime-survey.html

Shelf Number: 149430

Keywords:
Corruption and Fraud
Economic Crimes
Financial Crimes
White Collar Crime

Author: Sanchez, Nelson Camilo

Title: Cuentas claras: El papel de la Comision de la Verdad en la develacion de la responsabilidad de empresas en el conflicto armado colombiano

Summary: This report examines the relationship between private businesses and paramilitary groups during Colombia's decades-long armed conflict, arguing that a post-conflict truth commission should investigate these potentially criminal dealings.

Details: Bogota, Colombia; Dejusticia: 2018. 118p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed march 16, 2018 at: https://www.dejusticia.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Cuentas-Claras.pdf?x54537

Year: 2018

Country: Colombia

URL: https://www.dejusticia.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Cuentas-Claras.pdf?x54537

Shelf Number: 149492

Keywords:
Economic Crimes
Human Rights
Paramilitary Groups

Author: Vladimirov, Martin

Title: Russian Economic Footprint in the Western Balkans: Corruption and State Capture Risks

Summary: Over the past decade, Russia has increasingly sought to reassert its position as a global power and to present itself as alternative to the Euro-Atlantic model of liberal democracy and a free market economy. The Western Balkans is one of the regions in which Russia has been most active in this respect. Thus far, the region has more or less stayed on its course toward NATO and the European Union (EU). But Russia's meddling in the region has enhanced space domestically for political opportunists to try to avoid implementing necessary reforms, particularly those related to strengthening the rule of law and curbing of autocratic tendencies - as a result undermining civil society and the media, leading to democratic backsliding and an economic slowdown. NATO nevertheless could accept Montenegro as a member, while the EU has put forward the Berlin Process, which aims to speed up economic development and transformation. In 2018, the EU will propose a new Enlargement strategy aimed at providing a clear path for the Balkans to integrate into Europe. Tackling outstanding "governance gaps" - deficits in the rule of law, and weak democratic and market institutions - in the Western Balkans is critical to limiting the effects of so-called "corrosive capital" - funds flowing from non-democratic states such as Russia that both take advantage of, and exacerbate the challenges facing struggling democracies - and to restoring the region's democratic transformation. The tools Russia has used to expand its presence in the region are not new: political pressure; soft power, including cultural, media, and religious campaigns; and economic leverage ranging from the control and acquisition of critical energy assets to the financing of political parties and media. These tools are underpinned by a concerted Kremlin narrative designed to counter Euro-Atlantic values. The seeds of this narrative have landed on fertile ground in the Western Balkans, where a climate of unstable institutions of governance and rule of law, and protracted and systemic corruption at both the administrative and political levels, often lead to policy, regulatory or even state capture. The mixture of weak institutions of rule of law and kleptocratic tendencies, media propaganda and geopolitical pressure from Russia (as well as from other countries), has led many Western Balkan governments to adopt policies inconsistent with their national security or development interests. This situation calls for a better understanding and re-assessment of the political and economic factors that threaten the region's development now, and in the future.

Details: Sofia: Center for the Study of Democracy, 2018. 66p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 24, 2018 at: http://wap.southeasteurope.org/~igardev/typo3/artShow.php?id=18228

Year: 2018

Country: Europe

URL: http://wap.southeasteurope.org/~igardev/typo3/artShow.php?id=18228

Shelf Number: 151250

Keywords:
Economic Crimes
Financial Crimes
Fraud and Corruption
Political Corruption

Author: National Employment Law Project

Title: Winning Wage Justice: An Advocate's Guide to State and City Policies to Fight Wage Theft

Summary: By any measure, wage theft in America is threatening to become a defining trend of the 21st century labor market. In the past year alone, workers recovered tens of millions of dollars in unpaid wages from their employers in a range of industries. For example, Staples paid $42 million in illegally underpaid wages to its assistant store managers, New Jersey truck delivery drivers received $2 million in an unpaid overtime settlement, Walmart settled an unpaid wages case for $35 million in Washington State, and New York car wash workers received $3.5 million in unpaid overtime. Behind these high-profile cases sits a growing body of research that documents a broad and worsening wage theft crisis in America. In a landmark 2009 study, Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers, researchers surveyed more than 4,000 workers in low-wage industries in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York, and found that 26 percent had been paid less than the minimum wage in the preceding week, and 76 percent had either been underpaid or not paid at all for their overtime hours. Dozens of studies by organizers and advocates in specific industries have uncovered similar rates of wage-related violations (as well as related health and safety, workers compensation, and right-to-organize violations). And in audits of employers in 1999 and 2000, the US Department of Labor (USDOL) found high rates of minimum wage, overtime and other violations across the country, including in 50 percent of Pittsburgh restaurants, 74 percent of Georgia day care centers, 50 percent of St. Louis nursing homes, 38 percent of Reno hotels and motels, and 47 percent of adult family homes in Seattle, to name just a few. Wage theft is not incidental, aberrant or rare, committed by a few rogue employers at the periphery of the labor market. It takes place in industries that span the economy- including retail, restaurants and grocery stores; caregiver industries such as home health care and domestic work; blue collar industries such as manufacturing, construction and wholesalers; building services such as janitorial and security; and personal services such as dry cleaning and laundry, car washes, and beauty and nail salons. Immigrants, women and people of color are particularly hard hit, although all workers are at risk of the many forms of wage theft: being paid less than the minimum wage, working off the clock without pay, getting less than time and a half for overtime hours, having tips stolen, and seeing illegal deductions taken out of paychecks. Minimum wage and overtime laws are the anchors of the employment relationship in the United States. They are the central vehicle by which public policy guarantees fundamental protections for workers. If we cede these most basic laws to rampant evasion and violation, we are effectively setting the clock back to the early 1900s, before the enactment of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), when the lack of any wage floor resulted in terrible working conditions. The wage theft crisis has many roots. Repercussions for violating the law are often not strong enough to dissuade employers, and declining resources and ineffective strategies by government enforcement agencies mean that employers have little fear of getting caught. Inadequate protections for workers who want to make claims of wage theft result in high rates of retaliation. And new forms of work and production, including outsourcing to subcontractors and misclassifying workers as independent contractors, have created confusion and allowed employers to move growing numbers of workers outside the reach of the law. The case for fighting wage theft is first and foremost about fairness and justice-but it is also about economics. There is the significant cost to workers and their families, which in one week alone is estimated to be $56.4 million in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles combined. There is the cost to taxpayers in lost revenues when employers fail to pay payroll taxes. There is the cost to our local economies, with fewer dollars circulating to local businesses, stunting economic recovery. And there is the cost to growth and opportunity as generations of workers are trapped in sub-minimum wage jobs. Every day, millions of responsible, profitable employers in this country comply with minimum wage and overtime laws. When we allow their unscrupulous competitors to undercut them on labor costs, we are starting a race to the bottom that will reverberate throughout the entire labor market in a cascading loss of good jobs. Everyone has a stake in this issue. Fighting wage theft is not about adding new burdens onto law-abiding employers. It is about smarter enforcement of laws that are already on the books, closing gaping loopholes and enacting stronger enforcement tools. In this guide, our goal is to support and build upon the surging grassroots energy around wage theft campaigns in cities and states across the country. Advocates are using high-profile street protests and new organizing strategies to target unscrupulous employers. They are mounting multi-year campaigns to update legal protections and set up new enforcement mechanisms. And they are pushing the issue of wage theft onto the airwaves, educating the public and lawmakers alike about the scale of the problem and how to fight it. In the process, they are creating strong, enduring coalitions of worker centers, unions, legal services groups, policy think tanks, and other low-wage worker advocates. By providing our allies a concrete menu of innovative policies to strengthen enforcement of minimum wage and overtime laws-as well as strategic guidance on identifying which policies make sense in a given community-our hope is that we help turn the tide and shift the American workplace from wage theft to wage justice.

Details: New York: The Project, 2011. 136p.

Source: Initernet Resource: Accessed October 24, 2018 at: https://s27147.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/WinningWageJustice2011.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: United States

URL: https://s27147.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/WinningWageJustice2011.pdf

Shelf Number: 153081

Keywords:
Economic Crimes
Financial Crime
Labor Law Violations
Wage Theft
Worker Exploitation

Author: Hallett, Nicole

Title: Workers on the Brink: Low-Wage Employment in Buffalo and Erie County

Summary: In 2017, Professor Hallett, winner of a public research fellowship from Open Buffalo and PPG, conducted a survey of 213 workers in Buffalo to learn more about the challenges they are facing. The survey found that local low-wage workers experience high rates of legal violations. In all, 58.9% of low-wage workers reported at least one wage and hour violation, and 56% reported at least one potential health and safety violation. In particular, among low-wage workers participating in the survey: - 16% reported making below the applicable federal or state minimum wage; - 35% reported not being paid overtime in violation of federal or state law; - 16% reported working off the clock without being paid; - 27% reported that they had failed to receive their pay on time; - 24% of low-wage workers making tips reported that their employer had taken some of their tips in violation of federal or state law; - 33.3% of low-wage workers who reported handling dangerous materials or operating dangerous equipment as part of their jobs reported that their employer did not provide adequate safety or protective gear; and 26.7% reported not being properly trained to avoid accident or injury; - 21.6% of low-wage workers who complained about their pay or working conditions to their employer reported being retaliated against. The survey revealed clear differences based on gender, race/ethnicity, and citizenship status. Women, members of racial and ethnic minorities, and non-citizens reported higher violation rates in response to most questions. The report's recommendations include: -- The City of Buffalo and Erie County should: - pass wage theft ordinances that penalizes employers who do not pay their workers. - pass laws that require employers to provide paid sick leave. - refrain from doing business with companies that have bad health and safety records. - The Buffalo Police Department and the Erie County District Attorney's Office should treat wage theft as a crime. - Buffalo should raise its living wage rate to $15 per hour. - Erie County should pass a living wage law, requiring companies that do business with the County to pay a living wage of $15 per hour.

Details: Buffalo, NY: Partnership for the Public Good; Open Buffalo, 2018. 18p.

Source: Internet Resource: Policy Report: Accessed November 20, 2018 at: https://ppgbuffalo.org/files/documents/poverty_low_wage_work_income_inequality/workers_on_the_brink__low_wage_employment_in_buffalo_and_erie_county_4112018.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: United States

URL: https://ppgbuffalo.org/files/documents/poverty_low_wage_work_income_inequality/workers_on_the_brink__low_wage_employment_in_buffalo_and_erie_county_4112018.pdf

Shelf Number: 153518

Keywords:
Economic Crimes
Financial Crime
Labor Law Violations
Wage Theft

Author: Hernandez, Cynthia S.

Title: Wage Theft: An Economic Drain on Florida. How Millions of Dollars are Stolen from Florida's Workforce

Summary: This is the second in a series of reports monitoring the growing problem of wage theft in Florida. Using previously unanalyzed data from the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division and separate data from various community organizations, this report shows evidence of a widespread problem across a broad spectrum of industries in Florida. The industries especially impacted are those commonly thought of as the core of Florida's economy-tourism, retail trade, and construction. Moreover, it appears more likely to affect those workers who can least afford it. Workers who receive low wages seem to be more likely to have their wages stolen by employers and as demonstrated in this report this is a large number of people. But, even this data does not account for the full magnitude of the problem, as an unknown number of cases go unreported. Indeed, as data on wage theft accumulates, the more it becomes clear how widespread wage theft is in the state of Florida and throughout the state's industries. Wage theft is defined as workers not receiving wages that they are legally owed. It occurs in different forms including unpaid overtime, not being paid at least the minimum wage, working during meal breaks, misclassification of employees as independent contractors, forcing employees to work off the clock, altering time cards or pay stubs, illegally deducting money from employees' pay checks, paying employees late, or simply not paying employees at all. Unfortunately, many employers know they can get away with wage theft and have little fear of sanction. Enforcement mechanisms are weak, due to lack of dedicated enforcement capacity at the state level, limited capacity of local branches of the Federal Department of Labor, and the gaps in U.S. labor laws that leave many employees unprotected. The data from this report reveal that: - Over $28 million of unpaid wages have been recovered by the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division in Florida, Miami-Dade's Wage Theft Ordinance and community groups throughout Florida. - The primary pillars of Florida's economy are undermined by widespread theft of employees' wages. Florida's key industries have the highest numbers of reported wage violations- tourism, retail trade and construction. - An average of 3,036 wage violations per year are reported to the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division in Florida (DOL-WHD). - In spite of ample evidence of widespread wage theft among low income workers, as of December 2011, the Florida Attorney General had not brought one single civil action to enforce the state's minimum wage law enacted in 2004. - Since the full implementation of the Miami-Dade County Wage Theft Ordinance in September 2010, the Miami-Dade County's Small Business Development agency has recovered nearly $400,000 in unpaid wages for 313 workers who unlawfully had their wages withheld from them. - Out of the six counties we analyzed, the largest number of cases were in Miami-Dade County followed by Hillsborough, Broward, Pinellas, Palm Beach and Orange counties in that order. Overall, the data suggest that the primary pillars of Florida's economy are undermined by widespread theft of employees' wages. Florida's key industries have the highest numbers of reported wage violations-tourism, retail trade and construction. Tourism, represented by Accommodation and Food Services in official data, has been a core focus of Florida's economy for nearly a century and it has the highest frequency of reported wage violations. Retail trade has been a growing generator of employment in Florida for decades. Jobs in both tourism and retail tend to pay relatively low wages. Thus, when there is theft from wages that are already relatively low, employees and their families are likely to suffer even more severely. The third industry plagued by wage theft, construction, does offer higher average wages than either tourism or retail trade, but the averages conceal considerable variation. While wages in the construction industry are higher on average than tourism or retail trade, much construction work is done through subcontracting with often only verbal agreements between a subcontractor and employees; and wages are often paid in cash. Under these conditions, it is relatively easy and common for subcontractors to not pay employees the wages they are due. The wage theft stories collected by community based organizations offer a glimpse into the impact of wage theft on individual employees. They demonstrate the unscrupulous competitive advantage that some employers gain by ignoring the law and causing suffering most often among those who can least afford it. When we consider that many employees who lose wages to wage theft earn at or near minimum wage with no benefits like health insurance we can imagine that the loss of even a small amount of earnings imposes real hardship. In the six most populous Florida counties, the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division recovered wages just under $16 million dollars. The average amount of recovered wages is $651 per employee who made a claim, more than a full week's work for someone earning $15 an hour, and more than two weeks work for someone earning the minimum wage. This average is a significant amount of money for an individual employee to lose over the course of a year. But, any loss of legitimately earned wages is a significant financial loss and a violation not only of the law but also of the social contract between employee and employer that is fundamental to a market economy. This analysis of wage theft cases also raises the question of whether a county and state economy can be healthy and grow while tolerating an unjust business model that avoids contributing to tax revenues. The employers who fail to follow the laws concerning their employees create an unfair business environment that penalizes those who do follow the law. Maintaining a level playing field for businesses is critical to maintaining a competitive business environment and to economic growth. The dishonest business model of practicing wage theft puts law abiding employers at a competitive disadvantage and undermines Florida's efforts to attract business. This report reveals that through the efforts of the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, Miami-Dade County's Wage Theft Ordinance, and community organizations throughout Florida, millions of dollars of unpaid wages have been recovered. Yet, all indicators are that much more can be done by simply enforcing existing wage and hour laws and by creating a statewide process that address the problem, since Florida has no state equivalent to a Department of Labor to investigate wage and hour complaints and does not have staff to enforce its minimum wage law. The evidence accumulating of a spreading illegal and ultimately an anti-business practice raises serious questions for a state economy and local economies hoping to attract businesses and employees to grow.

Details: Miami, FL: Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy, Center for Labor Research and Studies, Florida International University, 2012. 43p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 20, 2018 at: https://www.reimaginerpe.org/files/Wage-Theft_How-Millions-of-Dollars-are-Stolen-from-Floridas-Workforce_final.docx1_.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: United States

URL: https://www.reimaginerpe.org/files/Wage-Theft_How-Millions-of-Dollars-are-Stolen-from-Floridas-Workforce_final.docx1_.pdf

Shelf Number: 153519

Keywords:
Economic Crimes
Financial Crime
Labor Law Violations
Wage Theft
Worker Exploitation

Author: Bernhardt, Annette

Title: Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers: Violations of Employment and Labor Laws in America's Cities

Summary: This report exposes a world of work in which the core protections that many Americans take for granted-the right to be paid at least the minimum wage, the right to be paid for overtime hours, the right to take meal breaks, access to workers' compensation when injured, and the right to advocate for better working conditions-are failing significant numbers of workers. The sheer breadth of the problem, spanning key industries in the economy, as well as its profound impact on workers, entailing significant economic hardship, demands urgent attention. In 2008, we conducted a landmark survey of 4,387 workers in low-wage industries in the three largest U.S. cities-Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City. We used an innovative, rigorous methodology that allowed us to reach vulnerable workers who are often missed in standard surveys, such as unauthorized immigrants and those paid in cash. Our goal was to obtain accurate and statistically representative estimates of the prevalence of workplace violations. All findings are adjusted to be representative of front-line workers (i.e. excluding managers, professional or technical workers) in low-wage industries in the three cities-a population of about 1.64 million workers, or 15 percent of the combined workforce of Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.

Details: Chicago: Center for Urban Economic Development; University of Illinois at Chicago; New York: National Employment Law Project; Los Angeles: National Employment Law Project, 2009. 72p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 21, 2018 at: https://www.labor.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/BrokenLawsReport2009.pdf

Year: 2009

Country: United States

URL: https://www.labor.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/BrokenLawsReport2009.pdf

Shelf Number: 153527

Keywords:
Economic Crimes
Employment Violations
Labor Laws
Labor Violations
Undocumented Immigrants
Wage Theft
Worker Exploitation
Workplace Violations

Author: Cavanough, Edward

Title: Ending Wage Theft: Eradicating Underpayment in the Australian Workplace

Summary: Wage theft is now one of the most pressing public policy issues in Australia. In some sectors of the economy it has transitioned from a fringe activity to a business model. And at the same time, most Australians haven't seen a decent pay-rise in more than half a decade. Wage theft and low wage growth are related. Our Falling Wages, Stalling Growth report highlighted how wage theft by some businesses undermines the ability of their competitors to give their staff a pay rise: a reminder that it's in everyone's economic interests to put an end to this pernicious practice. This report builds on that 2018 report with a closer look at the people in our workforce that are most at risk to having their wages stolen. From young workers in hospitality not getting super or penalty rates to migrant workers in horticulture and more, we see that some segments of the population are more vulnerable than others. At the same time few, if any, sectors of the economy can say they are free from blemish - it's more a question of degrees or differing forms that wage theft takes than whether or not it occurs. The report also seeks to highlight the financial and welfare impacts on those workers and their families as well as the flow-on consequences for the broader economy, including the Federal Budget deficit. Recognising that this harmful habit by some has become a community-wide problem that warrants all of our attention, this report puts forward ideas and solutions to eradicate wage theft. These are grouped into four broad categories. First, this report advocates for a set of measures designed to demonstrate a zero-tolerance approach to wage theft. This includes reinforcing steps already underway to criminalise wage theft at a state level as well as new proposals to have it recognised as a form of anti-competitive conduct that will enable legitimate employers to seek damages when a competitor has undermined their business by underpaying their staff. Second, measures to make compliance more straight forward for employers in the first place and private enforcement action more accessible for employees are then explored. In corporate parlance, the latter means ensuring an effective right of audit for employees or unions acting on their behalf. Meanwhile streamlining the payment of superannuation and payroll is a simple example of how unnecessary complexity can be removed for employers. Third, we argue boosting public resources to tackle wage theft as well as improving government enforcement activities are required. Every dollar underpaid to staff means less income and payroll taxes flowing into government coffers. Conversely, this means whenever an employee makes a successful claim for underpaid wages the budget bottom line is improved. In effect, the commonweal and state treasurers are free-riding on some of the more vulnerable workers in our labour force when it really should be the other way around. This is why we have proposed legislating the Stopping Wage Theft Subsidy Pool to subsidise private enforcement action, education campaigns and to reward whistleblowers. Finally, the report looks at how other, often unrelated, areas of government policy need to be improved to ensure they don't unintentionally reward or encourage wage theft. The report puts forward specific suggestions in relation to government procurement and grants as well as immigration, and recommends the establishment of a whole-of-government taskforce to ensure all commonwealth policy levers are aligned towards ending wage theft as a business model.

Details: Melbourne: McKell Institute Victoria, 2019. 67p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 27, 2019 at: https://mckellinstitute.org.au/app/uploads/McKell-Ending-Wage-Theft.pdf

Year: 2019

Country: Australia

URL: https://mckellinstitute.org.au/app/uploads/McKell-Ending-Wage-Theft.pdf

Shelf Number: 155189

Keywords:
Economic Crimes
Financial Crime
Labor Law Violations
Wage Theft
Worker Exploitation

Author: Economist Intelligence Unit

Title: The Global Illicit Trade Environment Index. Overall Results

Summary: Behind most every major headline, every major story in the news, lies another potential headline and another story about some form of illicit trade. From the refugee crises in the Mediterranean and South-east Asia, where the chaos is providing cover for human traffckers, to North Korea, a criminal state that couldn't survive if it didn't trade in arms, illicit cigarettes and counterfeit currency. Even the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election has led to indictments on money laundering, which is both a product of illicit trade and a facilitator of it. To measure how nations are addressing these and other issues related to illicit trade, the Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade (TRACIT) has commissioned the Economist Intelligence Unit to produce the Global Illicit Trade Environment Index. The global index expands upon an Asia-specifc version, originally created by The Economist Intelligence Unit in 2016 to score 17 economies in Asia on the extent to which they enabled or prevented illicit trade. This year's updated and expanded version now includes 84 economies, providing a global perspective and new insights on the trade's societal and economic impacts. Key fndings from the index are: - With a score of 85.6 (out of 100), Finland ranks frst in the overall index, besting the United Kingdom by only 0.5 points. The rest of the top 10 is rounded out by a handful of European countries (Sweden, Austria, Netherlands, Denmark and Germany), along with the United States, Australia and New Zealand. - At the bottom of the overall index is a group of developing economies from all regions of the globe. Libya ranks 84th out of 84 economies, with a score of 8.6, and is joined by Iraq in 83rd place, scoring less than six points better. Faring slightly better, but still poorly, are a group of economies that score in the twenties and thirties in the index: Myanmar (82nd), Laos (81st), Venezuela (80th), Cambodia (79th), Kyrgyzstan (78th), Belize (77th), and Ukraine (76th) and Trinidad and Tobago (75th). - Regionally, Europe (34 economies in the index), which includes the EU-28 plus six other countries, earns the highest the average score (68.0). The Asia-Pacifc (21 economies) comes second at 56.0 and the Americas (19 economies), including the US and Canada, is in third at 54.0. The Middle East and Africa (10 economies) is last among the regions, mainly due to low scores on the "supply and demand" and the "transparency and trade" indicators. - Among the four categories in the index, the highest average score (69.0) across all 84 economies is in "customs environment," which measures how effectively an economy's customs service manages its dual mandate to facilitate licit trade while also preventing illicit trade. - The lowest average score (50.0) is in the "supply and demand" category, which measures the domestic environment that encourages or discourages the supply of and demand for illicit goods. A close look at the global environment that enables illicit trade can prove a somewhat dispiriting exercise. The average overall score in the Global Illicit Trade Environment is a shade under 60.0. Where economies aren't underresourced in customs or law enforcement, they may otherwise be indifferent or actively neglect illicit practices in order to continue reaping the economic benefits of being a global financial centre (like the UK) or a regional logistics hub (like Singapore, Dubai and Panama) or one of the world's factories (like China and Vietnam) or a main source of narcotics (like Colombia). Or they may just be corrupt; corruption is far more pervasive than people appreciate and it is by no means limited to the developing world, as investigations in the US and elsewhere have recently shown. As we noted in our 2016 paper, however, and emphasise again in this year's edition, there is an international community of people- observers, experts, private sector executives and government offcial- who have identified the many ways in which illicit trade, in all it various forms, can be combatted. The solutions they propose range from the quotidian to the more extreme. Few, if any, are unrealistic. What the index, this paper and all the other papers published alongside it as part of the larger project, proposes is that economies that are laggards on the issue can start small and build towards a better environment for preventing illicit trade. And the economies that are leaders should lead.

Details: London: Author, 2018. 44p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 24, 2019 at: https://www.tracit.org/uploads/1/0/2/2/102238034/eiu_global_illicit_trade_whitepaper_final.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: International

URL: https://www.tracit.org/uploads/1/0/2/2/102238034/eiu_global_illicit_trade_whitepaper_final.pdf

Shelf Number: 156605

Keywords:
Economic Crimes
Illicit Cigarettes
Illicit Products
Illicit Trade
Money Laundering

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