More often than not, corporate crime and white-collar crime are confused because they have common criminal activities that fall under their category. However, there are distinct differences between the two.

As a firm that handles criminal lawyers in Dubai, we can share with you the differences of the two. Even our criminal lawyers in Abu Dhabi encounter this kind of questions as well. As this is a well-known discussion, there are two well-known differences that can give you the idea of how to differentiate the two. Those two differences are as the following:

  1. The one who benefits from the crime
  2. The one who goes to jail

When you have answered the questions for a certain situation, you’d know which category that situation falls into: corporate crime or white-collar crime.

Before doing so, it’s essential to define first the two things in order to weigh their stark differences.

Corporate Crime V. White-Collar Crime

Corporate Crime Defined

As defined by Investopedia, corporation is “a legal entity separate and distinct from its owners”. Although it’s the people that commit the crimes, the corporate crime is done by those people for the benefit of their company not themselves. In this case, there are penalties that will be faced by any corporation that is involved in crimes. These penalties exist to punish the business. The stain on the company’s name because of the crime that they are found to have done is simply an added punishment. Also, the people who are found guilty of doing the crimes can be fined as well.

To make it clear, corporate crime is when the people of a corporation commit a crime, like fraud to gain more income, simply for their business to benefit more revenue that they should.

White-Collar Crime Defined

On the other hand, white-collar crime is also committed with the motive to gain financially. Although in this case, the people who have done the crimes are only after the money for their own benefit not the company. The penalties for this crime can be a jail term or a huge fine.

Fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering are just some of the examples of white-collar crime. Because these crimes are usually committed by individuals who are managers, executives, etc., it’s been coined as “white-collar crime”.

Two Important Questions

If we answer the questions stated above in the introduction of this article, we can differentiate the two: Corporate Crime and White-Collar Crime.

  1. The one who benefits from the crime

In Corporate Crime, the one that benefits is the whole company.

In White-Collar Crime, the one that benefits is the person who committed the crime.

  1. The one who goes to jail

In Corporate Crime, the one who goes to jail is the person who committed the crime.

In White-Collar Crime, the one who goes to jail is also the person who committed the crime.

Using these questions, even just the first one, you can differentiate the two categories easily and not confused the two or even consider them as the same thing.

There are still a lot of things to learn about Corporate Crimes and White-Collar Crimes. Our criminal lawyers in Dubai continuously share their knowledge on different legal information, even our criminal lawyers in Abu Dhabi willingly lend their hands to entertain questions. You can check this to learn more regarding this topic and others.