In brief. White collar crime is the set of non-violent, financially motivated offences committed in a business, professional or governmental setting by individuals who exploit a position of trust. The term was coined by sociologist Edwin Sutherland in 1939 and has since become the standard label — in common law and civil law jurisdictions alike — for a broad family of offences ranging from fraud and bribery to insider dealing, money laundering and tax crimes. ILA assists clients in cross-border white collar matters under Italian, UK, US and EU law.

ILA is an Italian criminal-defence firm. This guide outlines UK/US rules for reference; we assist English-speaking clients whose case has an Italian dimension — extradition to or from Italy, Interpol Red Notices and cross-border proceedings — alongside local counsel abroad.

In short

  • White collar crime covers non-violent offences committed in business, professional or public-sector roles.
  • Core types: fraud, embezzlement, bribery, money laundering, insider dealing, tax crimes, sanctions breaches.
  • Prosecuted in the UK chiefly under the Fraud Act 2006, Bribery Act 2010, Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.
  • Prosecuted in the US chiefly under the FCPA, mail/wire fraud, RICO and securities laws.
  • In Italy the relevant regime includes the Italian Criminal Code (frodi, corruzione, riciclaggio), D.Lgs 74/2000 (tax crimes) and D.Lgs 231/2001 (corporate criminal liability).

What is a white collar crime: definition

A white collar crime is, in its classic definition (Sutherland 1939), “a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation”. The modern operational definition refers to a non-violent offence motivated by financial gain, committed through deceit, abuse of position or breach of trust, typically within a corporate, professional or governmental context. The actor is not necessarily a senior executive: white collar offences are committed by accountants, traders, public officials, professionals and intermediaries alike.

Types of white collar crime

The catalogue of white-collar crime is broad and evolving. The most relevant categories are the following.

Fraud. False representations, dishonest abuse of position or failure to disclose information for financial gain. In the UK governed by the Fraud Act 2006 (sections 2, 3, 4); in Italy by art. 640 of the Italian Criminal Code and special-fraud provisions; in the US by mail and wire fraud statutes (18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1343).

Bribery and corruption. Domestic and foreign bribery in the private and public sector. UK: Bribery Act 2010 (sections 1, 2, 6 and the corporate offence of section 7 — failure to prevent bribery). US: Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Italy: arts. 318-322 of the Italian Criminal Code on bribery and corruption, art. 322-bis on foreign public officials and art. 346-bis on trafficking in unlawful influence (rewritten by Law 114/2024, which also repealed abuse of office, art. 323).

Money laundering. Concealment of proceeds of crime. UK: Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) sections 327-329. EU: Directive 2018/1673 and the 2024 AML package. Italy: art. 648-bis and 648-ter.1 of the Italian Criminal Code, D.Lgs 231/2007 on AML compliance.

Insider dealing and market abuse. Trading on the basis of inside information. UK: Criminal Justice Act 1993 part V; Market Abuse Regulation (UK MAR). EU: Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR). Italy: art. 184 TUF (D.Lgs 58/1998) and the related administrative regime.

Tax crimes. Fraudulent or omitted declaration, undue offsetting, fraudulent destruction of accounting documents, failure to pay withholding tax. Italy: D.Lgs 74/2000 as amended by L. 157/2019 and D.Lgs. 87/2024. UK: cheating the public revenue (common law), fraudulent evasion of VAT, Criminal Finances Act 2017. US: 26 U.S.C. § 7201 ff.

Sanctions breaches. Violations of EU, UK, US (OFAC) and UN sanctions regimes. Increasingly enforced after 2022.

Corporate fraud and accounting offences. False accounting, market manipulation, prospectus fraud. UK: Theft Act 1968 s. 17, FCA enforcement. Italy: arts. 2621-2622 of the Italian Civil Code (false corporate communications).

Cybercrime with financial purpose. Computer fraud, business email compromise, ransomware extortion. Italy: arts. 640-ter, 615-ter of the Italian Criminal Code; UK: Computer Misuse Act 1990.

Legal references — UK, US and Italy compared

A non-exhaustive comparative map for orientation.

United Kingdom:

  • Fraud Act 2006 — general fraud framework
  • Bribery Act 2010 — bribery and the section 7 corporate offence
  • Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 — money laundering and confiscation
  • Criminal Finances Act 2017 — corporate failure to prevent facilitation of tax evasion
  • Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 — Companies House reform, new “failure to prevent fraud” corporate offence (in force since 1 September 2025)
  • Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018

United States:

  • 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1343 — mail and wire fraud
  • 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961-1968 — RICO
  • 15 U.S.C. § 78dd-1 ff. — FCPA
  • 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956, 1957 — money laundering
  • 15 U.S.C. § 78j, 78u — securities fraud, insider trading

Italy:

  • Art. 640 Italian Criminal Code — general fraud
  • Arts. 318-322 Italian Criminal Code — bribery and corruption
  • Art. 416-bis Italian Criminal Code — mafia-type association (often charged in complex economic-crime investigations)
  • Art. 648-bis Italian Criminal Code — money laundering
  • D.Lgs 74/2000 — tax crimes
  • D.Lgs 231/2001 — corporate criminal liability (administrative-criminal hybrid)
  • D.Lgs 58/1998 (TUF) — securities law, market abuse, insider dealing

How white collar crime is prosecuted: investigation and trial

White-collar prosecutions are document-heavy, technology-driven and almost always cross-border. The typical lifecycle is the following.

Detection. Most cases originate from internal compliance (whistleblowing channels, internal audits, monitoring), regulators (FCA, CONSOB, BaFin, SEC), Financial Intelligence Units (UKFIU, UIF, FinCEN), tax authorities (HMRC, Agenzia delle Entrate, IRS), and increasingly from open-source and journalistic investigations (e.g. ICIJ leaks).

Investigation. Investigations involve forensic accounting, e-discovery, dawn raids, witness interviews, mutual legal assistance requests (MLAT), European Investigation Orders (EIO) within the EU, and increasingly the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) for offences affecting EU financial interests.

Resolution. Outcomes vary by jurisdiction. The UK and US frequently rely on Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs). Italy uses patteggiamento (negotiated penalty), messa alla prova in narrow cases and, for the company, patteggiamento under art. 63 D.Lgs 231/2001 (Italy has no DPA mechanism). Cross-border parallel proceedings are common and raise complex ne bis in idem issues.

Asset recovery. Confiscation orders, Account Freezing Orders (UK), Unexplained Wealth Orders (UK), preventive seizures (Italy art. 321 c.p.p.), DOJ asset forfeiture. Recovery is the cross-border challenge that often determines whether a prosecution achieves its purpose.

Victims of white collar crime: who pays the price

Victims of white-collar crime are often invisible in the public narrative but vast in number. They include:

  • shareholders and investors who lose value following corporate fraud or accounting misstatements;
  • pensioners and savers whose funds are mismanaged by intermediaries;
  • public administrations defrauded of grants, EU funds, VAT;
  • taxpayers ultimately bearing the cost of evasion and the recapitalisation of defrauded banks;
  • employees of collapsed companies;
  • competitors disadvantaged in markets distorted by corruption and bid-rigging.

The harm is diffused, often delayed in time, and rarely felt individually — a structural feature that historically explains both under-reporting and lighter sentencing compared to street crime.

Corporate criminal liability: when the company itself is prosecuted

A defining trait of modern white-collar enforcement is the criminal exposure of the legal entity itself. In the UK, section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010, section 45 Criminal Finances Act 2017 and the new “failure to prevent fraud” offence in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 create strict-liability offences for the company, with a reasonable procedures defence. In Italy, D.Lgs 231/2001 establishes a parallel system: the entity is sanctioned for offences committed in its interest or to its advantage by top managers or subordinates, unless it has adopted an effective Organisation, Management and Control Model. In the US, prosecutors rely on the respondeat superior doctrine and on the DOJ “Justice Manual” guidance.

For multinational groups the convergence of these regimes makes cross-border compliance unavoidable: a single misconduct can trigger parallel investigations under multiple corporate-liability frameworks.

Cases

(Illustrative examples of typical situations: they do not refer to specific proceedings or to clients of the firm.)

Case 1 — Cross-border bribery. A European industrial group is investigated simultaneously by the UK SFO under section 7 Bribery Act 2010, by the Italian prosecutor under D.Lgs 231/2001 for art. 322-bis Italian Criminal Code (corruption of foreign officials), and by the US DOJ under the FCPA. A coordinated resolution may involve a DPA in the UK, patteggiamento in Italy and a US resolution, with crediting of fines across jurisdictions.

Case 2 — Tax-fraud carousel. A VAT-fraud carousel spans Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom. The Italian investigation is led by the Guardia di Finanza under D.Lgs 74/2000; the German one by the local Staatsanwaltschaft; the UK side by HMRC. Money laundering, false accounting and obstruction charges follow. The EPPO becomes competent for the EU side where the cross-border VAT fraud reaches EUR 10 million in total damage.

FAQ

What is a white collar crime? A non-violent, financially motivated offence committed in a business, professional or governmental setting through deceit, abuse of position or breach of trust. Examples include fraud, bribery, insider dealing, money laundering and tax crimes.

What are the most common types of white collar crime? Fraud, bribery and corruption, money laundering, insider dealing, market abuse, tax crimes, accounting offences, sanctions breaches and financially motivated cybercrime.

Who are the victims of white collar crime? Shareholders, investors, savers, public administrations, taxpayers, employees of collapsed companies, and competitors in distorted markets. The harm is diffused and often invisible to single individuals.

How are companies prosecuted for white collar crime? Through corporate criminal liability regimes: section 7 Bribery Act 2010 and the failure-to-prevent offences in the UK, D.Lgs 231/2001 in Italy, respondeat superior in the US. Effective compliance programmes are the main defence.

What is the difference between white collar crime and organised crime? White-collar crime is typically defined by the social and professional setting and by the non-violent, deceit-based modus operandi. Organised crime is defined by the structured association of multiple persons for the commission of crimes. The two overlap, especially in money-laundering and corruption cases involving organised groups exploiting corporate vehicles.

About ILA

International Lawyers Associates is an Italian criminal law firm with a long-standing focus on white-collar defence, AML compliance, cross-border investigations and corporate criminal liability. Offices in Naples, Milan and Rome; on matters abroad the firm works alongside local counsel. Direction: Avv. Alexandro Tirelli.