今天我們要討論的topic是一些Financial crimes,也就是我們常說的經(jīng)濟(jì)犯罪。下面高頓財經(jīng)小編就分別一一來看這些在你未來的職業(yè)生涯中可能會遇見的經(jīng)濟(jì)性犯罪。
1.Fraudulent trading
欺詐性交易,違反了公司法(The Companies Act 2006)和破產(chǎn)請算法(the Insolvency Act 1986),該罪名可以是刑事犯罪(criminal offence),也可以是民事犯罪(civil offence)。
Fraudulent trading:this criminal offence occurs under the Companies Act 2006 where a company has traded with intent to defraud creditors or for any fraudulent purpose.
Also a civil offence of the same name under section 213 of the insolvency Act 1986 but it only applies to companies which are in liquidation.
公司董事故意對債權(quán)人進(jìn)行欺詐,抱著根本不想還的意圖大肆向債權(quán)人借款,這觸犯了公司法的相關(guān)規(guī)定,最高可面臨10年的有期徒刑(imprisonment),同時公司可能還要面臨巨額罰款(fine)。
公司破產(chǎn)清算也是欺詐性交易的高發(fā)地,明知公司資不抵債不行了快破產(chǎn)了,利用信息不對稱,還在向債權(quán)人大肆借款,使債權(quán)人血本無歸。這種情況下,經(jīng)營者或參與經(jīng)營者(any persons who were knowingly parties to carrying on the business)有義務(wù)歸還債權(quán)人的欠款。
在現(xiàn)實中,很難證明這個罪名的成立,因為很難證明經(jīng)營者自己到底知不知道公司快破產(chǎn)了,很多情況經(jīng)營者明明知道但卻借口不知道,為了保護(hù)債權(quán)人的正當(dāng)利益,因此又引入了一個民法犯罪的罪名——不正當(dāng)交易(Wrongful trading)。
Remember that Fraudulent trading can be a criminal offence or civil offence,while wrongful trading is a civil matter.
2.Wrongful trading
不正當(dāng)交易是民法罪名,民法的目的是補償而不是懲罰,所以如果公司董事被證明犯了不正當(dāng)交易罪只需要補償受損失的債權(quán)人即可,不用坐牢(the director will have to make such contribution to the company’s assets as the court sees fit)。
要證明公司董事犯了不正當(dāng)交易罪需要滿足如下條件:
A.公司董事已經(jīng),或應(yīng)該知道,公司正常來說已經(jīng)沒有啥前途了,進(jìn)入資不抵債破產(chǎn)程序已經(jīng)不可避免(no reasonable prospect that the company could have avoided going into insolvent liquidation),這個結(jié)論是由其他正常水準(zhǔn)的公司董事得出的,用法律上的高大上的話來說是a reasonably diligent person with the general knowledge,skill and experience that might reasonably be expected of a person carrying out that particular director’s duties。
B.公司董事沒有采取足夠的步驟(sufficient steps)來減少債權(quán)人的潛在損失(potential loss)。
3.Bribery
Bribery:a serious offence which often relates to the offering and receiving of gifts or hospitality。
Bribery,賄賂罪,包括行賄和受賄,違反了反賄賂法(the Bribery Act 2010),罪名主要有四個,前三個是針對個人(individual),最后一個是針對公司(corporate);
1.Bribing another person
2.Being bribed
3.Bribing a foreign public official
4.Corporate failure to prevent bribery
賄賂罪有兩個例外,情報組織(intelligence service)和軍事武裝(armed force)不受賄賂罪的起訴,所以像007這種不管是賄賂人還是被賄賂,都是無罪的。但其他人如果犯了賄賂罪最高可判十年監(jiān)禁,或外加上不封頂?shù)牧P款(unlimited fine),如果是公司犯了賄賂罪,同樣可能面臨天文數(shù)字的罰款(unlimited fine),同時公司還要遭受名譽上打擊(loss of reputation),公司的董事還有可能面臨補償性質(zhì)民事指控,傾家蕩產(chǎn)將是大概率事件。
4.Money laundering
就是傳說中的洗錢罪,Money laundering is the process by which the proceeds of crime,which have illegitimate origins,are converted into assets that appear to be legitimate,簡單說就是把非法收入通過種種手段偽裝成合法收入,掩蓋其資金的來源。
洗錢的操作手法(money laundering process)一般有三個步驟:
1.Placement–the disposal of the proceeds of crime into an apparently legitimate business property or activity;轉(zhuǎn)移或布局,把黑錢轉(zhuǎn)化到合法的物質(zhì)和經(jīng)濟(jì)活動上,這是最初始的資金處置,這個階段黑錢還是能夠很容易查到的,所以需要下一步分層;
2.Layering–the transfer of money from place to place,in order to conceal its criminal origins;分層,就是具體洗的過程了,形象的比喻是,通過一層層的過濾把黑錢中黑色(非法)的部分濾掉,分層得越多過濾得越干凈,最后變成合法的資金。過濾,就是各種交易,各種倒來倒去,有點厲害的洗錢組織把資金在全球范圍內(nèi)流轉(zhuǎn),極大增加了追查的難度。
3.Integration–the culmination of placement and layering,giving the money the appearance of being from a legitimate source。最后一步是整合,多次重復(fù)前兩個步驟后,最后把洗干凈的錢通過合法的經(jīng)濟(jì)活動回到自己手上。
根據(jù)the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002,洗錢會導(dǎo)致3種犯罪:
A.Laundering–being the offences of concealing,disguising,converting,transferring,or removing criminal property from the UK。具體參與洗錢,最高判14年監(jiān)禁或外加罰款。
B.Failure to report–it is an offence for someone who knows or suspects that another person is engaged in money laundering not to report that fact to the appropriate authority(National Crime Agency).知情不報,這個罪名就和我們的會計師行業(yè)大大的有關(guān)系了,最高可判5年監(jiān)禁或外加罰款。
C.Tipping off–it is an offence to make a disclosure likely to prejudice a money laundering offence already being undertaken,or which may be undertaken。通風(fēng)報信罪,最高可判2年監(jiān)禁或外加罰款。
5.Insider dealing
內(nèi)幕交易罪,主要在成文法the Criminal Justice Act 1993(CJA)中有所規(guī)定。
Insider dealing is dealing in securities while in possession of inside information as an insider,the securities being price–affected by the information.
為了更好的理解這個罪名,我們先來看幾個定義:
1.Insider–anyone who is in receipt of‘inside information’,including:
?Directors,employees,or shareholders
?Anyone else who has access to inside information via their office or profession(e.g.auditors)
?Anyone who gains information from any of the above
內(nèi)部人,那些有機會有手段可以接觸到內(nèi)部信息的人。
2.Inside Information–information that is price sensitive,being:
?Related to specific securities
?Is specific or precise
?Has not been made public
?Is likely to have a significant effect on the price of the securities
內(nèi)部信息,那些跟某個證券有關(guān)的特定的準(zhǔn)確的還沒有公開的,一旦公開會明顯影響證券價格的敏感信息。
3.Dealing–the defendant either:
?Was an insider who dealt using inside information in price-affected securities
?Encouraged others to deal
?Disclosed the inside information to anyone else
交易,可以包括用內(nèi)幕信息自己買賣特定證券,或慫恿他人買賣,或直接泄露內(nèi)幕信息給那人。
內(nèi)幕交易罪一旦成立,最高可判7年監(jiān)禁或外加上不封頂?shù)牧P金。但內(nèi)幕交易罪也有下列幾條(包括但不僅限于此)抗辯理由:
1.Market makers acting in good faith
2.The defendant did not expect the dealing to result in profit,or the avoidance of a loss
3.The defendant reasonably believed the information was publicly available
4.The defendant would have dealt anyway,even if they did not have the information
因此在實際中,法院并不容易以該罪名定罪,為了解決這個“the perceived ineffectiveness of the inside dealing provisions”,于是又引入了新的民法罪名“market abuse”。
Remember that insider dealing is a criminal offence,market abuse is a civil matter.
6.Market abuse
Market abuse relates to * which amounts to abuse of a person's position regarding the stock market.市場濫用罪,主要是有關(guān)證券市場的。
高頓小編提醒,我們判斷一個人是否濫用(abuse),就是觀察一個人在他所處的職位在與市場有關(guān)的行為上是否是標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的合理的被期望的行為(observe the standard of * reasonably expected of a person in their position in relation to the market)。
具體來說,濫用市場一般與下列行為有關(guān)(所舉例子包括但不限于):
?發(fā)布了一個具有誤導(dǎo)性或者欺騙性的報告,recklessly making a statement or forecast that is misleading,false or deceptive;
?Engaging in a misleading course of conduct for the purpose of inducing another person to exercise or refrain from exercising rights in relation to investments.簡單說,就是誤導(dǎo)投資者。
總結(jié)(recap):
Test yourself:recall Syllabus you have learnt in this topic
▎本文作者高頓財經(jīng)ACCA研究中心F4教研組,來源高頓。原創(chuàng)文章,歡迎分享,轉(zhuǎn)載請注明來源高頓。