Aborder sous l’angle sociologique la criminalité financière conduit à relever les incomplétudes d’un traitement juridique, élaboré à partir d’un cadre répressif comme réponse aux crimes et délits commis, et économique, construit sur le rapport coût-bénéfice – risque. L’approche sociologique, permettant au contraire le développement d’une démarche syncrétique, oriente la compréhension de la nature des interactions entre l’acteur criminel -agent -et son environnement socio-économique. Cette thèse repose sur quatre hypothèses fondamentales. La criminalité financière est la résultante de déviances individuelles. Elle est le stade ultime du capitalisme financier. Elle se développe à partir de la manipulation de l’information financière. La lutte contre ce fléau constitue un enjeu de civilisation. La démonstration de ces hypothèses repose sur une double approche, empirique et pratique. L’approche empirique vise à étudier les principaux acteurs criminogènes. Les enquêtes de terrain auprès de magistrats, syndicalistes, agents des impôts, experts-comptables,commissaires aux comptes, universitaires permettent la validation des hypothèses de base et la perception des difficultés pérennes pour lutter efficacement contre cette criminalité de type intellectuel. La première partie de la thèse demeure consacrée à une approche socio-normative de la criminalité financière dans le but d’élaborer une réflexion théorique sur les moyens à mettre en oeuvre pour comprendre la portée des atteintes subies par la collectivité. En conséquence, le premier axe se construit autour d’une « démarche épistémologique en matière de criminalité financière » (Chapitre 1). Le second développe les principales atteintes à l’intégrité de l’économie de la confiance (Chapitre 2). La deuxième partie de la thèse se poursuit par une connaissance des agents et acteurs impliqués dans la construction d’opérations de criminalité financière. La criminalité financière ne saurait se concevoir sans l’action d’agents intimement convaincus de la justification d’un enrichissement absolu et sans cause (chapitre 3). Aborder ces acteurs, au sens juridique du terme, facilite la compréhension avec laquelle sont commis ces délits particuliers. Ces personnes physiques sont-elles des déviants économiques isolés ? L’analyse de leurs caractéristiques et parcours propres conduit à mettre en évidence la spécificité de ces grandes figures de la criminalité financière (chapitre 4). Cette approche permet d’explorer les raisons pour lesquelles ces agents criminogènes ne sont pas isolés lorsqu’ils s’insèrent dans des groupements de personnes à vocation criminelle (chapitre 5). Bénéficiant de complicité d’acteurs institutionnels contribuant indirectement à l’émergence de la criminalité financière (chapitre 6), ils donnent aux crimes financiers une dimension dépassant largement la responsabilité individuelle de leurs auteurs. Enfin, la troisième partie de la thèse développe concrètement des pistes pour résoudre le dilemme qu’une économie criminogène fait subir à une collectivité donnée. Utilisant à la fois des techniques d’enquêtes classiques et des raisonnements sociologiques s’inspirant de plusieurs courants de pensée en sciences sociales, l’analyse des actes de criminalité financière (chapitre 7) conduit à souligner l’importance du rôle des acteurs en charge de la lutte contre ce fléau (chapitre 8). Leurs témoignages débouchent sur la mise en perspective de propositions de lutte contre la criminalité financière dont on examinera les conditions de possibilité (chapitre 9). / The sociological perspective of financial crime not only reveals the inherent shortcomings of basing its legal treatment on a repressive framework and its economic treatment on a cost/benefit ratio, but by favouring a more syncretic approach, also helps clarify the nature of interactions between criminal actors and their socioeconomic environment. This thesis is based on four fundamental hypotheses. Financial crime is the result of individual deviant behaviour. It is the last stage of financial capitalism. It arises from the manipulation of financial information. The struggle against this scourge represents achallenge to civilisation. The demonstration of these hypotheses is based on a dual empirical and practical approach.The empirical approach aims to study the key criminal actors. Fieldwork interviews with magistrates, union members, tax officers, expert accountants, auditors and academics validate both the fundamental hypotheses and long-term difficulties involved in waging an effective battle against this type of intellectual crime. The first part of the thesis takes a socio-normative approach to financial crime with a view to developing a theoretical reflection on the means to be implemented to gauge the extent of damage to the community. Thus, the first area of research builds on an “epistemological approach to financial crime” (Chapter 1). The second studies the implications of the damaged integrity of the trust economy (Chapter 2).The second part of the thesis seeks to gain an insight into agents and actors involved in organising financial criminal activities. Such crime is only conceivable when agents firmly believe that they are entitled to absolute and unjust enrichment (Chapter 3). Taking a legal approach to these actors helps understand how these particular crimes are committed. Arethey isolated economic deviants? By analysing their characteristics and history, the specificity of major financial criminals is highlighted (Chapter 4). This approach identifies the reasons why these criminal agents are not isolated when they collude with criminally-minded groups (Chapter 5). They benefit from the complicity of institutional actors, who indirectly contributeto the emergence of financial crime, (Chapter 6), and give financial crime a dimension which goes far beyond the individual responsibility of the perpetrators. Finally, the third part of the thesis develops concrete proposals to resolve the dilemma inflicted by the criminal economy on a given community. Using both traditional fieldwork techniques and sociological reasoning drawn from various bodies of thought in social sciences, acts of financial crime are analysed, (Chapter 7) revealing the important role played by those leading the fight against this scourge (Chapter 8). Their testimonies lead to anevaluation of proposals for combating financial crime and their conditions of possibility (Chapter 9).

Thesis advisor: Philip E. Strahan / This dissertation consists of two essays which explore the interface between retail banks and organized criminality. In the first of these, “Dark Banking? Banks and Illicit Financial Flows from the Mexican Drug Trade,” I explore why banks provide financial services to organized-crime syndicates. I also ask whether there is a role for regulation in insulating finance from criminal activity. I address these questions using evidence from the drug trade in Mexico, finding that local drug cartel activity causes an increase in bank deposits, and branch networks grow in affected areas. After the election of a “law-and-order” government, these effects dissipate, with liquidity flowing into branches of U.S. banks along the border. In the second essay, “Bank Branch Networks, Banking Relationships, and Organized Crime,” I explore if banks develop relationships with criminal organizations, exploiting spatial variation in cartel activity, again using Mexico as an empirical laboratory. I test whether banks with prior exposure to criminal activity are more likely to enter areas where cartels operate, as well as whether previous exposure to specific cartels predicts entry into banking markets where said cartels have entered. Results suggest that certain banks do establish these relationships. Bank characteristics that have significant effects on differential behavior regarding collusion with organized criminal organizations are domestic majority equity ownership and bank size. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management. / Discipline: Finance.

Le blanchiment de capitaux est actuellement le délit qui connaît la plus importante croissance. Par ailleurs, la lutte contre ce phénomène reste un thème actuel et global. Consciente du caractère essentiellement transfrontalier de ce fléau et ses conséquences néfastes qu’il présente particulièrement pour les pays en voie de développement dont les systèmes financiers sont réputés fragiles, l’Algérie a mis en place divers instruments afin de combattre le blanchiment d’argent. Outre sa participation aux instruments internationaux, elle a mis en place des moyens nationaux permettant de lutter contre cette forme de délinquance financière. Nous avons analysé ces instruments et les modifications récentes apportées en la matière par les autorités algériennes. / Money laundering is currently an offense that is still growing. Moreover, the fight against this phenomenon remains an overall theme. Recognizing the transboundary nature of this scourge and its harmful consequences that this presents particularly for the developing countries whose financial systems are notoriously fragile, Algeria has introduced various instruments to fight money laundering. In addition to its participation in international instruments, it has set up national means to fight against this form of financial crime. We analyzed these instruments and the recent changes made by the Algerian authorities.

The aim of this master's thesis is focusing on the problem of committing insurance frauds in Czech Republic. It is divided into separated chapters. In the introductory part I focused on a theoretical explanation of the terms related to this topic. The following section focuses on explaining the classification and the source of insurance frauds, the reasons of committing these criminal offenses, and the general profile of the perpetrator. Furthermore, in the theoretical part, I outlined the ways of the insurance fraud investigations. The goal of the thesis was to focus on the factors directing to insurance frauds Therefore, the analytic part concentrates on the analysis and the evaluation/assessment of the given statistical data results related to insurance frauds. In the end, for a better understanding, I mentioned a few revealed cases of these criminal offenses, and suggested certain preventive arrangements/actions against their potential happening or their easier revelation (in the future). Finally, I evaluated by analyzing risk groups committing insurance fraud and the main factors that lead to insurance fraud.

Digitaliseringen pågår överallt och den utvecklas snabbt. Möjligheterna är många samtidigt som utmaningar finns. Det kan vara svårt för företag och organisationer att ställa om processer, ändra arbetssätt samt lära ut ny teknik i takt med digitaliseringens framfart, men för att hålla sig kvar på marknaden är det mer eller mindre ett krav. När en organisation genomgår en förändring behöver dess medlemmar anpassa sig till det nya arbetssättet. Syftet med vår studie är att få förståelse för hur revisionsprocessen ser ut idag och hur den förändring som digitaliseringen bidragit med påverkar möjligheten att upptäcka ekonomisk brottslighet. För att undersöka det utgår vi från vår frågeställning; hur har digitaliseringen inom revisionsprocessen förändrat arbetet med att upptäcka ekonomisk brottslighet? Vår studie baseras på Karl E. Weicks teori om meningsskapande i organisationer. Tidigare forskning har visat att det finns brist på kunskap om hur den meningsskapande processen kommer till uttryck samt digitaliseringens påverkan på revisionsprocessen kopplat till ekonomisk brottslighet. Studiens resultat baseras på kvalitativa intervjuer med fem revisorer och en expert från Ekobrottsmyndigheten, samt en dokumentanalys.  Studiens resultat visar att de digitala verktygen som används inom revisionsprocessen idag bidrar till att monotona moment inom revisionen har fallit bort och att revisorerna istället kan lägga sitt främsta fokus på analyser och tolkning. Ett mer digitaliserat arbetssätt inom revisionsprocessen kan således leda till en mer kvalitativ och effektiv revisionsprocess, med mer omfattande och grundläggande analyser av revisionsunderlag vilket i sin tur påverkar möjligheten att upptäcka ekonomisk brottslighet. / Digitization is an ongoing process, and it is developing rapidly. Digitalization offers are many opportunities, but also presents challenges. It can be difficult for companies and organizations to change processes, adapt to new working methods and teach new technology to employees. However, in order for businesses to stay in the market, digitalization is more or less a requirement. When an organization undergoes a change, its members need to adapt to the new way of working. The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of what the audit process looks like today, and to investigate the impacy that digitization has on the ability to detect financial crime. To investigate this, we start with our question; How has digitization in the audit process changed the work of detecting financial crime? Our study is based on Karl E. Weick's theory of sensemaking in organizations. Previous research has shown that there is a lack of knowledge about how the sensemaking process is expressed as well as the impact of digitization on the audit process linked to financial crime. This study's results are based on qualitative interviews with five accountants and an expert from the Swedish Economic Crime Authority (Ekobrottsmyndigheten), as well as document analysis. The results shows that the digital tools used in the audit process today contribute to the fact that monotonous aspects of the audit have fallen away and that the auditors can instead put their main focus on analyzes and interpretation. A more digitized way of working within the audit process can thus lead to a more qualitative and efficient audit process, with more extensive and fundamental analyzes of audit documents, which in turn affects the possibility of detecting financial crime.

Background: Previous research has shown that an expectation gap exists between the public and auditors. It has also shown that there is a strong link between the expectation gap and in detecting fraud. Like the public's expectations, there is an imbalance between the authorities and auditors' expectations of the auditor's role. They expect more from the auditors than the auditors think they can provide. This leads to disagreement between the parties. When the auditor has expectations that do not correspond to what the auditor considers to be their role, they end up in a role conflict. The authorities' interest in using the auditor as a law enforcement actor can be a contributing factor to the expectation gap, as the legislation lacks clear guidance and it creates scope for authorities to formulate their own expectations. Based on all of the above, it is interesting to investigate how the Swedish Tax Agency and the economic crime authority view the auditor's responsibility in detecting fraud. Questions: How do authorities view the auditor’s responsibility in detecting fraud? Purpose: The purpose of the essay is to investigate how Ekobrottsmyndigheten (the economic crime authority) and Skatteverket (the swedish tax agency) view the auditor’s responsibility in detecting fraud. The intention is to explain and describe what expectations these authorities have of the auditor in detecting fraud. Method: A qualitative method has been applied in this essay where data collection happened through five semi-structured interviews with people from a certain authority. A strategic selection was made where informants were chosen due to their specific workplace, which is either the Economic Crime Authority or the Swedish Tax Agency. Results and conclusion: The results show that the authorities look at the auditor's role according to legislation, thus no expectation gap arises. The authorities do not expect the auditor to actively seek or look for financial crime or be held liable for financial scandals without cause. On the other hand, the authorities consider that the auditor is an important player in reducing financial crime and expect the auditor to fulfill his reporting obligation when fraud is discovered. / Bakgrund: Tidigare forskning har visat på att ett förväntningsgap existerar mellan allmänheten och revisorer. Det har även visat att ett starkt samband finns mellan förväntningsgapet och i att upptäcka bedrägerier. Likt allmänhetens förväntningar finns det en obalans mellan myndigheterna och revisorer förväntningar på revisorns roll. De förväntar sig mer från revisorerna än revisorerna tror de kan tillhandahålla. Detta leder till oenighet mellan parterna. När revisorn har förväntningar som inte stämmer överens med vad revisorn anser är deras roll hamnar de i en rollkonflikt. Myndigheterna intresse i att använda revisorn som brottsbekämpande aktör kan vara en bidragande faktor till förväntningsgapet eftersom lagstiftningen saknar tydlig vägledning och det skapar utrymme för myndigheter att formulera egna förväntningar. Med utgångspunkt av ovanstående är det intressant att utreda hur Skatteverket och Ekobrottsmyndigheten ser på revisorns ansvar i att upptäcka bedrägerier. Problemformulering: Hur ser myndigheter på revisorns ansvar i att upptäcka bedrägerier? Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att utreda hur Ekobrottsmyndigheten och Skatteverket, ser på revisorns ansvar i att upptäcka bedrägerier. Avsikten är att förklara och beskriva vilka förväntningar dessa myndigheter har på revisorn i att upptäcka bedrägerier. Metod: En kvalitativ metod har tillämpats i denna uppsats där datainsamlingen har skett genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem personer från myndigheter. Ett strategiskt urval gjordes där informanterna valdes med anledning av deras specifika arbetsplats, vilket är antingen Ekobrottsmyndigheten eller Skatteverket. Resultat och slutsats: Resultatet visar att myndigheterna ser på revisorn roll enligt lagstiftning därmed uppstår inte förväntningsgap. Myndigheterna förväntar sig inte att revisorn aktivt ska söka eller leta efter ekonomisk brottslighet eller hållas ansvariga för finansiella skandaler utan grund. Däremot anser myndigheterna att revisorn är en viktig aktör i att minska ekonomisk brottslighet och förväntar sig att revisorn uppfyller sin anmälningsskyldighet när bedrägerier upptäcks.

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When economic crime is discovered it tends to result in solutions that strengthen the audit. In 2010 a law was adopted which reduced the influence of the audit. The reform gave the smallest companies the opportunity to actively refrain external audit. That can be seen as remarkable as the auditors are the primary control organ of smaller companies. The reform was introduced to simplify the administrative burden and reduce its costs. This qualitative study aims to explain the factors that have been affected by the abolition of auditing based on the auditors' perspective. By answering the research questions: What are the effects caused by the elimination of auditing requirements for smaller companies from the auditor's perspective? What does the financial crime look like in these companies and what factors affect the auditors' decision-making regarding eco-crime? What affects individuals' inclination to commit financial crime? The aim of this study is to chart the factors that have been affected by the elimination of auditing for small companies from the perspective of auditors. Furthermore, the study aims to increase the understanding of the interplay between company stakeholders, small companies and auditors, as there is currently no qualitative research in this area. The research questions are answered using collected secondary data and qualitative interviews. The conclusion of the study suggests that the abolition meant that business leaders without the necessary skills now produce the annual report and the current accounts. Further effects that have arisen are that authorities have increased workload due to both poor annual reports and that audit work has to some extent been shifted from auditors to government agencies. The bolition has also resulted in an increased incidence of economic crime. The factors that affect he auditors' inclination to report criminal acts are primarily; transaction size, the individual's wareness of the crime, the motivation behind it, the customer's inclination to remedy the act and the parties concerned by the action. The study indicates that there is a correlation between the existence of financial crime and high frequency of cash handling. The factors that influence an individual to commit crimes are corporate culture. In the companies where employees commit financial crime, mainly lack of internal control is seen as the reason.

Background: Organized crime and the construction industry in relation to prevention and theoretical perspectives are understudied areas.  Aims and method: This study aims to contribute to the knowledge of organized and financial crime in the Swedish construction industry and map the blind spots for control mechanisms and crime prevention. The purpose is to identify the structure of opportunities for organized crime in the Swedish construction industry through crime script analysis. Results: Two generalizable scripts following a similar modus operandi emerged, the “corporate looting” script and the “invoice factory” script. The peripheral involvement of organized crime groups indicates that there is a point in distinguishing between the actors and actions.  Conclusions: Interventions should target intermediaries, earlier stages, and situations where the script enters the legal market. Further integration of macro-level analysis with crime script analysis can contribute to the formulation of effective crime prevention strategies.

Banks and other financial institutions are to a certain extent obligated to ensure that their services are not utilized for any type of financial crime. This thesis investigates the possibility of analyzing bank customers' transactional behaviour with machine learning to detect if they are involved in financial crime. The purpose of this is to see if a new approach to processing and analyzing transaction data could make financial crime detection more accurate and efficient. Transactions of a customer over a time period are processed to form multivariate time series. These time series are then used as input to different machine learning models for time series classification. The best method involves a transform called Random Convolutional Kernel Transform that extracts features from the time series. These features are then used as input to a logistic regression model that generates probabilities of the different class labels. This method achieves a ROC AUC-score of 0.856 when classifying customers as being involved in financial crime or not. The results indicate that the time series models detect patterns in transaction data that connect customers to financial crime which previously investigated methods have not been able to find.