Irish Examiner view: Time to take on fraud and corruption

The Government’s decision to implement the recommendations of the Hamilton review group that give greater powers and resources to investigate corruption, fraud, and economic crime, is welcome.

Successive Irish governments have been slow to deal with aspects of white-collar crime. File picture: Pexels

When the ordinary, law-abiding citizen thinks of criminals and criminality, what often comes to mind is a violent individual, gangsters, armed bank robbers, and drug dealers.

In fact, in money terms alone, most wrongdoing consists of so-called white-collar crime, and includes corruption, insurance and other fraud, bribery, tax evasion, nepotism, and the manipulation of financial markets. 

We welcome, therefore, the Government’s decision to implement the recommendations of the Hamilton review group which has recommended widespread legislative changes and greater powers and resources for gardaí and other agencies investigating corruption, fraud, and economic crime.

The review also recommends enhancing the resources of the Standards in Public Office (Sipo), explaining that “the rationale behind this recommendation is that improving resourcing to Sipo will enable it to fulfil its mandate”.

“At present, current staffing levels at Sipo mean that an analysis of submitted returns is not possible,” it states. It is shocking to learn that Sipo does not have the resources to do one of its prime functions. As matters stand currently, not alone does it not have teeth, it doesn’t even have gums.

Successive Irish governments have been slow to deal with aspects of white-collar crime. It took 19 years to implement fully the 1999 Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption with the passage of the Criminal Justice (Corruption Offences) Act 2018. 

Among its provisions is the new offence, as recommended by the Mahon Tribunal, of an Irish official doing a corrupt act in relation to his or her office.

Similarly, in 2014, the Council of Europe rebuked the Irish Government for failing to implement recommendations it had made three years before in relation to corruption prevention in respect of politicians, judges, and prosecutors. 

The council’s anti-corruption body, Greco, said Ireland had fully implemented only three of 11 recommendations included in a 2014 evaluation. It described Ireland’s level of compliance with its recommendations as “globally unsatisfactory”. This has only been partly addressed since.

There is no doubt, as Justice minister Helen McEntee put it, that corruption and white-collar crime damages our economy, breeds cynicism in our society, and is a threat to Ireland’s international reputation. As a major international hub for financial services, Ireland’s exposure to economic crime, especially fraud, is substantial.

Most white-collar crimes are carried out by business people, those working in professional positions, as well as academics and government officials. Nowadays, white-collar crimes are associated with technology that involves a high level of skill. Online scams that can cheat people out of their life savings occur every day.

While not violent, these kinds of offences are just as damaging to society as street crimes or gangland killings. Indeed, they often facilitate violent crimes. 

For example, the accountant who launders stolen money to buy weapons may have facilitated a violent assault or murder. There is nothing white or innocent about white-collar crime.