Cental Bank deputy calls for new measures to fight white collar crime
The Deputy Governor of the Central Bank is calling for new measures to fight against white collar crime.
In a speech in Dublin today, Matthew Elderfield said the financial crisis should prompt action in the same way gangland activity saw the setting up of the Criminal Assets Bureau in the 1990s.
He says we need to ask ourselves how we can raise our game to ensure an enforcement system that delivers deterrence where it really counts - at the door of the individual who breaks the rules.
"I think it would be useful to find an appropriate mechanism to provide a measured analysis of and reflection on our overall structures in Ireland for taking cases against individuals for breaches of financial regulation or indeed for cases of white collar financial crime," Elderfield said.
"Many people in Ireland have the impression that the national track record here could be stronger. The Central Bank, and its predecessor the Financial Regulator, has only applied financial sanctions to seven individuals during the past 10 years.
"We do have some substantial cases against individuals in the pipeline, but they are taking a lot of time. Similarly, on the criminal front, despite the efforts of the Gardaí, DPP and ODCE, we are still some way from the start of criminal proceedings, never mind their successful conclusion, of the cases arising from the financial crisis."
