Financial crimes

Financial crimes (금융범죄/金融犯罪) are crimes conducted by, against, or making use of, financial institutions or their employees. Or finanicial crimes are defined as crimes against property, involving the unlawful conversion of the ownership of property (belonging to one person) to one's own personal use and benefit.

Financial crimes may involve fraud (cheque fraud, credit card fraud, mortgage fraud, medical fraud, corporate fraud, securities fraud (including insider trading), bank fraud, payment (point of sale) fraud, health care fraud; theft; scams or confidence tricks; tax evasion; bribery; embezzlement; identity theft; money laundering; and forgery and counterfeiting, including the production of Counterfeit money and consumer goods.

Financial crimes may involve additional criminal acts, such as computer crime, elder abuse, burglary, armed robbery, and even violent crime such as robbery or murder. Financial crimes may be carried out by individuals, corporations, or by organized crime groups. Victims may include individuals, financial institutions, corporations, governments, and entire economies.

Financial crimes are usually categorized into white-collar crimes (화이트칼라 범죄).

Key words
financial crime, white-collar crime, money laundering, embezzlement, cybercrime

Characteristics of Crimes
In general, financial crimes are conducted in a highly sophisticated manner by means of financial products or towards financial markets, thus doing harm to multidudes of financial consumers. It is difficult to identify the criminal acts and to collect evidence relating to such crimes. Sometimes the victims could not notice any wrongdoing against them.

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), police and public prosecutors' office are investigating financial crimes in a cooperative manner. The FSS is in charge of examination of whether a certain act is in violation of relevant statutes prior to the actual investigation and law enforcement. The FSS may, if necessary, supplement the investigation with its know-how and expertise in financial products. In many cases, extensive tracing of related bank accounts (계좌추적) with a warrant issued by the court is indispensable for the efficient collection of evidence.

Types of Financial Crimes
The Public Prosecution Office Statistics Regulation (검찰통계사무규정, 법무부훈령 제821호) classifies the financial crimes of economic crimes as follows:
 * Crimes relating to currencies (통화에 관한 죄)
 * Crimes relating to checks and bills (유가증권에 관한 죄)
 * Violations of the Financial Real Name and Secrecy Act (금융실명거래 및 비밀보장에 관한 법률 위반)
 * Violation of the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act (외국환거래법 위반)
 * Breach of trust on business (업무상배임죄).

In addition, money laundering beyond the scope of financial supervision need to be classified in financial crimes.

Relating to Banks
The following laws related with banking and financing may be invoked:
 * Criminal Act: 사기죄(347), 컴퓨터 등 사용 사기죄(347-2), 횡령죄(355), 배임죄(355), 공문서/사문서위조죄(225, 231)와 동 행사죄(234)
 * Commercial Act: 특별배임죄(622), 납입가장죄(628)
 * Banking Act: 각종 신용공여규정위반죄(35-2, 35-4, 38)
 * Act on Real Name Financial Transactions and Confidentiality (금융실명거래 및 비밀보장에 관한 법률) : 각종 실명거래의무 위반(4) 등이 있다.

이러한 은행관련 범죄는 불법대출이나 임직원의 횡령 등으로 인해 은행의 경영건전성이 악화되고 이로 인해 은행예금자에게 피해를 주는 경우가 많다.

Relating to Non-Bank Banks
상호저축은행, 신용협동조합, 새마을금고, 농협은행, 수산업협동조합중앙회의 신용사업부문에 있어서 해당 근거법 상의 자금대출범죄 관련규정 위반이 문제된다. 은행과 마찬가지로 불법적인 대출, 임직원의 횡령 사고가 많다.

대부분 서민금융과 관련이 많아 서민 금융소비자들에게 피해를 끼치게 되므로 금융소비자보호 차원에서 중요하게 다루어진다. 불법 유사수신행위, 무등록 대부업체의 이자율제한 위반, 불법적인 채권추심행위, 대출사기 및 전화금융사기, 신용카드 변조 및 불법카드거래행위는 각각의 벌칙 조항에 따라 처벌된다.

Relating to Financial Investment Business
주로 자본시장에서의 유가증권 및 파생상품의 거래와 관련하여 일어나는 범죄이다. 형법상 유가증권 위/변조 행위(214-217), 자본시장법상 내부자거래, 시세조종 등 불공정거래행위(172-180), 미인가업자의 금융투자업 행위, 허위기재, 영업준칙위반 (444-445), 그리고 공사채등록법(17)과 자산유동화법(39, 40) 위반행위가 처벌된다.

특히 증권시장 관련범죄는 그 혐의 판단에 고도의 전문성을 요하므로 한국거래소와 금융감독원에서 혐의 판단을 하여 검찰에 고발하는 절차를 거친다.

Relating to Insurance
불법으로 보험금을 노린 범죄에는 보험범죄와 보험사기가 있다. 전자는 보험가입자 등이 보험보호를 거저 얻거나 부당하게 낮은 보험료를 지불하거나 또는 부당하게 높은 보험금 지급을 요구할 목적으로 고의적이며 악의적으로 하는 행위를 말한다.

후자는 보험사고를 불법한 방법으로 야기하거나 보험자를 기망하여 보험금을 사취하는 것을 목적으로 고의적으로 하는 행위를 말한다.

Relating to Foreign Exchange
Unauthorized or unapproved transactions of foreign exchange, and fraudulent report related with foreign exchange transactions are subject to the penal provisions of the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act (외국환거래법).

Money Laundering
For most countries, money laundering and terrorist financing raise significant issues with regard to prevention, detection and prosecution. Sophisticated techniques used to launder money and finance terrorism add to the complexity of these issues. Such sophisticated techniques may involve different types of financial institutions; multiple financial transactions; the use of intermediaries, such as financial advisers, accountants, shell corporations and other service providers; transfers to, through, and from different countries; and the use of different financial instruments and other kinds of value-storing assets.

Money laundering (돈세탁) is, however, a fundamentally simple concept. It is the process by which proceeds from a criminal activity are disguised to conceal their true origin. Basically, money laundering involves the proceeds of criminally derived property rather than the property itself. Money laundering can be defined in a number of ways, most countries subscribe to the definition adopted by the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988) (Vienna Convention) and the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (2000) (Palermo Convention):
 * The conversion or transfer of property, knowing that such property is derived from any (drug trafficking) offense or offenses or from an act of participation in such offense or offenses, for the purpose of concealing or disguising the illicit origin of the property or of assisting any person who is involved in the commission of such an offense or offenses to evade the legal consequences of his actions;
 * The concealment or disguise of the true nature, source, location, disposition, movement, rights with respect to, or ownership of property, knowing that such property is derived from an offense or offenses or from an act of participation in such an offense or offenses, and;
 * The acquisition, possession or use of property, knowing at the time of receipt that such property was derived from an offense or offenses or from an act of Participation in such offense or offenses.

Global Enforcement
The Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), which is recognized as the international standard setter for Anti-money Laundering (AML) efforts, defines the term “money laundering” briefly as “the processing of criminal proceeds to disguise their illegal origin” in order to “legitimize” the ill-gotten gains of crime.

Sentencing Criteria
In June 2012, the Supreme Court disclosed the new Sentencing Criteria. With respect to financial crimes, the Judiciary has upgraded the punishment to protect ordinary financial consumers and investors.

1) 다수의 일반투자자에게 막대한 재산상 손실을 초래하고,자본주의 경제질서를 해치는 반사회적 행위에 대한 국민의 여론을 반영하여 종래 법원의 양형관행보다 형량범위를 대폭 상향

2) 자본시장질서를 교란하여 막대한 이득을 취득하는 자본시장의 공정성 침해범죄에 대하여 기본적으로 사기범죄에 준하여 형량범위를 정하되,공청회 및관계기관 의견조회절차에서 제시된 의견을 반영하여 이득액이 50억 원 또는 300억 원 이상인 중대 범죄의 경우에는 사기범죄보다 형량범위를 높게 하여 가중 처벌함

3) ‘시세조종’,‘부정거래’의 경우 실제 주가 등에 중대한 영향을 미쳤거나 거래규모가 커서 사회적 폐해가 심했던 범죄를 가중 처벌하고,‘금융기관 임직원 직무에 관한 알선수재’의 경우 브로커 등이 조직적으로 개입하여 법행수법이 매우 불량한 경우 가중하여 처벌하기로 함

4) 사회적 폐해가 심각한 주가조작 등 ‘시세조종행위’중 ‘이득액 또는 회피손실액이 5억 원 이상이고,범행수법이 매우 불량한 경우’는 원칙적으로 실형이 선고될 수 있도록 실형권고사유로 명시함