Just a few years after the financial crisis, a new report tells an important story: Federal prosecution of white-collar crime has hit a 20-year low.
The analysis by Syracuse University shows a more than 36 percent decline in such prosecutions since the middle of the Clinton administration, when the decline began. Landing amid calls from Democratic presidential candidates for more Wall Street prosecutions, the report notes that the projected number of prosecutions this year is 12 percent less than last year and 29 percent less than five years ago.
“The decline in federal white-collar crime prosecutions does not necessarily indicate there has been a decline in white-collar crime,” Syracuse researchers note. “Rather, it may reflect shifting enforcement policies by each of the administrations and the various agencies.”
Underscoring that assertion is a recent study by researchers at George Mason University tracking the increased use of special Justice Department agreements that allow corporations — and often their executives — to avoid being prosecuted. Before 2003, researchers found, the Justice Department offered almost no such deals. The researchers report that from 2007 to […]
A recent article on Bloomberg indicates that DOJ is going to start going after individuals more. There is a power shift going on in favor of the regulators. I’m inside the banking world, working on regulatory projects, so I know whereof I speak.
Mr. Hovland, I wonder where you stand on the regulations. Do you think the regulations can be implemented to steer the banks away from the massive speculation and reform the banks successfully toward less “casino style” banking? I appreciate your expertise on this, and respect your position as an “insider”. Thank you.