Every year, white-collar criminal activities such as fraud, money laundering, corruption, and industrial espionage cost several billion euros worldwide. They damage organisations' reputations and jeopardise public trust.
Many organisations only recognise the danger when they are affected by white-collar crimes. In precisely such situations, one must react not only swiftly but also appropriately to avoid financial damage and reputational harm. This crisis not infrequently leads to a latent existential threat to the organisation's continued existence.
For affected organisations, the fight against these transgressions has become even more demanding in recent years. On the one hand, the permanent availability of information infrastructures and increasingly mobile access to confidential data pose risks for organisations. Targeted electronic attacks by both external and internal perpetrators on information systems and fraudulent activities regularly make headlines. On the other hand, the growing number of newly introduced regulations increases the risk of compliance violations.
The fight against white-collar crime in the globalised world has become increasingly difficult because internationally operating organisations are locally confronted with different customs and practices.
The objectives of the White-Collar Crime specialist area are:
- Imparting knowledge to achieve an understanding of the threat posed by white-collar criminal activities
- Discussion and development of methods for the prevention and detection of white-collar criminal activities through the involvement of influential decision-makers from business and politics as well as experts from academia and research
- Discussion and analysis of current regulatory, technical, and societal developments and their influence on white-collar crime
Possible topics addressed within this specialist area:
- Lessons learned from practice
- Perpetrator profiles - typical white-collar criminals and their behavioural patterns
- Artificial intelligence in the fight against white-collar crime
- Bribery and corruption in the international environment
- Money laundering 4.0 - cryptocurrencies
- Industrial espionage as an existential threat
