7-Figure Robberies and Corporate Scams: Are White Collar Crimes the Better Bargain?

“Kill him!”

“Show him!”

“Teach him a lesson!!!”

The mob shouts as they escort a young man to the market square, totally surrounded leaving no millimeter for a possible escape. He receives punches to the head and lashes on the back as they move along. Upon arrival at the square, truck tires and gasoline are already prepared. No time is wasted and he was immediately placed within 3 tires, piled one on the other and set ablaze before the police make it to the scene. This was as a result of stealing a lady’s handbag and getting caught.

Unfortunately this is what happens to your average street thug and undertakers of petty crimes when caught publicly. They face the maximum penalty either with their lives or near loss of life, as they are in no position to defend themselves either in the face of the law or public. Perpetrators of larger and more complicated white collar crimes and elite deviance, from money laundering to healthcare fraud and Ponzi schemes  on the other hand either face continued VIP treatment with unmeasurable freedom advantages or are left to return to business as usual.

White collar criminals are far less likely to experience justice than street criminals, who are also more likely to be caught in their wrongdoing. They pull the shots. Where white collar criminals have access to over the top legal representation for defense against potential repercussions, street criminals cannot retain such legal representation, leaving them considerably more vulnerable in the legal system. Therefore, white collar criminals are seen and treated as more socially acceptable than street criminals in many societies.

An added advantage white collar criminals have over their street peers is the level of intellect put into the task at hand. In cases where the crime is a complex one and a first of its kind, leverage may come into play. It is therefore not rare in more developed societies for law enforcement to strike a deal of INTEL over JAIL Time.

 International piracy as seen off the coast of Somalia, and other white collar crimes are usually high grossing 6/7+figure criminal transactions which are visualized from a totally different perspective. With the world economy worsening and today’s youth losing hope over the lack of sustainable jobs, the number of con artists around the globe is increasing exponentially. The Russians of course, the Chinese and the Americans have always held the lead in cyber theft.

 There is an increasing proliferation of con artists on the African continent. Increased education has brought about a new breed of highly versatile scammers. In Africa, they are highly respected and protected because they keep key players and those around them on a payroll.  They are role models to some. They change flashy cars and the sexiest girls in town at will.  They are nothing short of semi-Gods in their ecosystem.

 The presence of white collar crime creates an even larger disorder in the world economy today and extremely bad business climate globally. Whole regions and countries have been black-labelled due to recurrent history of bad business malpractices and so even the honest few left may remain in limbo. On the other hand, a number of foreigners seeking business ventures in Africa without real due diligence create an imagination for themselves that everything is cheap on the continent.  They would rather do business with someone offering unrealistically low rates than a person offering the real deal. This proves how greedy those vulnerable can be.

This in mind, criminals can be tempted to go the whole 9 yards. The internet has paved the way for a better life, better and increased communication and the many other business ventures that sprouted as a result. But behind all of that is the darker side, where the same enhanced connectivity has caused the downfall of many.

In the pre-internet days, business was more about phone calls followed by a meeting face to face in order to exchange warmth and have a taste of how genuine your counterpart was. Nowadays criminals sit behind computers in a box barely half the size of an office space to carry out mega ventures.