Maria Krambia-Kapardis defines fraud and corruption as economic crimes,
and more specifically as white-collar crimes. The author uses the term economic
crime as covering “illegal acts perpetrated by a person or a group of
persons to obtain a financial or professional advantage.” Her basic argument
is that fraud and corruption “can contribute significantly to bringing about
the collapse of corporations and a financial crisis.” Krambia-Kapardis believes
that the basic element of any fraudulent practice is deception. Being deeply
aware that fraud and corruption are complex phenomena, Krambia-Kapardis
thus suggests a holistic model that takes the individual, the organization,
and the society into account. Why do fraud and corruption appear as complex
phenomena? Because we cannot identify its multiple causes. According
to Krambia-Kapardis, we can only get correlates, but never causal relationships.
If we cannot isolate the causes of a bad phenomenon, then we cannot
get rid of it. Krambia-Kapardis is not developing a utopian pattern of reference.
The author is quite realistic, when dealing with efficient strategies
against fraud and corruption. She clearly asserts that “it would be naïve to
believe that fraud, corruption, or both could be eradicated.” As Krambia-
Kapardis asserts, “reducing corruption and fraud by and against corporations
contributes to reducing the risk of corporate collapses and consequently the
risk of a financial crisis.” However, the author does not believe that ex ante or
ex post regulation is really effective in reducing systemic risk. About the 2008
financial crisis, Krambia-Kapardis considers that corporate governance systems
could contribute to regulate boardroom behavior. Most of all, corporate
governance is defined in terms of principles and values: openness, honesty,
transparency, trustworthiness, and accountability.