White Collar Criminals – United we Stand

 

 

Context :

Data repository on white collar crime to aid agencies

THE WEB-BASED DATABASE WILL INTEGRATE DATA OF FINANCIAL CRIMES PROBED BY INTELLIGENCE AND PROBE AGENCIES

·        Hindustan Times (Lucknow)

·        10 Apr 2023

·        Neeraj Chauhan letters@hindustantimes.com

 

Extract :

 

The Centre will by end of May roll out a new data repository called the National Economic Offence Records, which will provide real-time information on white-collar crime and criminals to law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

The web-based database will integrate data of all key financial crimes investigated by intelligence and probe agencies including the CBI, the ED, the income-tax department, Directorate of Revenue and Intelliof gence, Serious Fraud Investigation Office, GST Intelligence, Customs, etc., for better coordination and quick dissemination information, officials said

 

 “Created on the lines of National Crime Records Bureau, which collates and analyses data related to all crimes across the country, the NEOR will focus only on financial crimes,” an official said, seeking anonymity.

 

The repository was envisaged in 2019 by the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau, the nodal agency on economic intelligence under the finance ministry, but it could not take off due to the pandemic.

 

The CEIB currently maintains the National Economic Intelligence Network (NEIN) database, which consists of dossiers and offences of economic offenders and suspected tax evaders based on inputs received from law enforcement agencies.

 

It has more than 8,680 dossiers and details of 202,526 offences as on November 2021.

 

The NEOR will be different from NEIN as it can be accessed by all economic offences’ probe officers anywhere in the country; they would also be able to update their findings in realtime, officials said.

 

 

Besides, all studies and analyses related to hawala (informal cross-border transfer of funds), modus operandi such as tradebased money laundering, use of businesses to transfer funds to terror organisations, tax havens across the world and diversion of income and corporate frauds will be maintained in the system, he said.

 

“A centralised repository is a much-needed reform, which will significantly help prosecutorial efforts, and hopefully cut down investigation time by making available data that normally would take several months to obtain,” said Sherbir Panag, an expert on white-collar crime and founder of Panag & Babu, a law firm.

“At the same time, the rights of accused persons must be protected, and investigations must not be prejudiced merely on account of FIRs,” Panag added.

 

 

MY  TAKE  ( 17 emails to our Cabinet Ministers ) :

 

2014 ( 1 ) :

 

Ø  E - Governance ?   ……………………………  03  April  2014

 

2016 ( 4 ) :

 

Ø  A Half-hearted Measure ?  ………………….. 07  Mar  2016

      Ø  Still a long way to go !  ……………………….. 25  Aug  2016

     Ø  United we Succeed : Divided we Fail  ….  29  Sept  2016

     Ø  Keep Trying   ………………………………………….. 24  Dec  2016

 2017 ( 3 ) :

Break-down the Silos !  ………………………….  16 Sept 2017

      Blockchain  for  E Governance  ?.. ……………04  Dec  2017

     Crime and Punishment …………………………….. 23 Dec 2017

 

2018 ( 2 ) :

Ø  CyberCrimes / DigitalIndia / e-Governance  … 09  Jan 2018

Ø  Blame Game Continues…………………………….09 Apr 2018

 

2022 ( 5 )

Ø  An Umbrella Body ? A Distant Echo ?  … ………..01 Apr  2022

     Ø  Thank You, Shri Karnal Singhji,……………………… 12  Apr 2022

Ø  DATA is better than Third Degree  ………………… 25  Apr  2022

Ø  Welcome NATGRID : Thank You, Shri Amitbhai Shah .. 04 May 2022

Ø  ED says : No ED ( Escape of Data ) ………………. 28 Nov 2022

 

 2023 ( 2 ) :

Ø     One Stop Shop for White Collar Criminals  …… 11  Apr  2023

Ø     NEOR : as envisaged………………………… ……………..15 May 2023

 

 

With regards,

Hemen Parekh

www.hemenparekh.ai  / 30 July 2023

 =============================================

Following is how BARD compared NEOR with my e-mail suggestion of 2014 :

 

 E - Governance ?   ……………………………  03  April  2014

 

Sure, here is a table comparing NEOR as being implemented by the Central Government and what you recommended in your blog:

Feature	NEOR	Your recommendation
Data sharing	Agencies are required to share data with each other, but this is not always done effectively.	All agencies should merge their databases into a single, centralized database.
Data security	Data is stored in a secure environment, but there have been some security breaches.	Data should be encrypted and stored in a secure location.
Access control	Access to the database is restricted to authorized users.	Access to the database should be based on biometric identification.
Online data entry	Data can be entered online, but this is not always done.	All data entry should be done online.
Timeliness	Data is updated on a regular basis, but there can be delays.	Data should be updated in real time.

 

Overall, your recommendation is more comprehensive and would provide a more effective way to combat corruption. NEOR has some good features, but it could be improved by incorporating some of your suggestions.

Here are some additional thoughts on your recommendation:

·        The centralized database would need to be very secure to prevent unauthorized access.

·        Biometric identification would be a good way to control access to the database.

·        Online data entry would make it easier for agencies to share data and would help to ensure that the data is up-to-date.

·        Real-time data updates would be ideal, but this may not be feasible in all cases.

I think your recommendation is a good starting point for developing a more effective way to combat corruption. With some refinement, it could be a valuable tool for law enforcement agencies.