White-Collar Crime and Corporate Accountability: Causes & Prevention

White-Collar Crime: Definition and Context

White-collar crime cannot be understood only by looking at the illegal act. It refers to crimes committed from positions of social and economic power, usually within organizational or corporate contexts. What defines these crimes is not only illegality, but the status of the offender, their access to power, and the abuse of trust and authority involved. According to Sutherland, white-collar crime differs from street crime because it is embedded in legitimate institutions.

Survival-Based Crime vs Elite Crime

The main difference between survival-based crime and elite crime lies in motivation. Survival-based crime is motivated by necessity or subsistence, while elite crime is motivated by profit, advantage, or power. Although both types of crime produce harm, elite crime is perceived as less serious due to the offender’s privileged position. This difference explains the selective response of the criminal justice system.

Visibility and Criminal-Justice Response

Some crimes are more visible and easier to prosecute because they are simple, direct, and involve identifiable victims and offenders. In contrast, corporate crime is complex, technical, and embedded in organizational structures. This complexity creates diffused responsibility, making investigations slower and more difficult. As a result, organizational complexity reduces visibility and weakens criminal-justice responses.

Corporate Compliance Programmes

A compliance programme is effective only when it goes beyond formal legal requirements. Purely symbolic compliance focuses on image and formal rules, but lacks real implementation. Effective compliance requires genuine organizational commitment and practical measures. Key elements include:

• Genuine commitment from management
• Internal controls
• Training and supervision
• Mechanisms for reporting misconduct

Without a real organizational change, compliance fails to prevent crime.

Victims of Corporate Crime

Victims of corporate crime are often collective and diffuse, rather than individual. They may include consumers, workers, the state, or the environment. The harm caused is often indirect and long-term, which contributes to the invisibility of victims. Although the harm is not immediately visible, it is real and socially significant.

Corporate Crime Prevention

Corporate crime prevention requires a combination of legal regulation and organizational measures. Laws alone are insufficient. Effective prevention depends on:

• Transparency
• Accountability
• Internal controls
• Realistic and applicable strategies

Prevention is more effective when it targets organizational structures, not only individual offenders.