White-collar crime - Companies asking for trouble

Irish businesses were blackmailed to the tune of a massive €2 billion last year, because they were afraid to report white-collar crime to gardaí.

A new survey on what it cost Irish business last year may not have mentioned blackmail, but that is effectively what it amounted to.

According to the survey, by accountants RSM Robson Rhodes, in association with Dublin Chamber of Commerce, 80% of the companies were worried about damage to their reputations should the crime become public.