White Collar Crime

White collar crime is a broad area of the law, canvassing offences such as fraud, bribery, insider trading, embezzlement, money laundering and a range of offences prosecuted by a number of bodies such as the Australian Tax Office (ATO), the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).

Nyman Gibson Stewart has accredited specialists in criminal law who have the specialised knowledge, experience and expertise to tackle all cases of White Collar Crime.

These offences carry significant penalties – ranging from substantial fines through to lengthy terms of imprisonment. The courts treat White Collar Crime seriously, since its detection is illusive at best and often encompasses a breach of trust by a person in a position of authority, often with devastating financial outcomes for a company, shareholder, investor or the like.

The penalties upon conviction for white collar crime normally involve a component of specific deterrence to stop the individual from committing such an offence again, and general deterrence so as to deter others from committing such offences – thus inexperienced representation may lead to devastating results.

Representing clients for White Collar Crime offences and investigations necessitates a comprehensive understanding of the operations and subliminal underlying aspects of the ATO, ICAC and ASIC. It also requires extensive knowledge and understanding of the myriad of legislation which provides the powers and the ways in which investigative bodies are permitted to investigate and conduct their prosecutions.

In recent times, ASIC and the ATO have been granted additional powers by the Government to combat White Collar Crime. These powers include executing search warrants, surveillance powers and powers to compulsorily examine witnesses – such include the absence of a right against self-incrimination (a standardised right in ordinary criminal proceedings granted under the respective Uniform Evidence Acts under each jurisdiction). These subtle nuances to your rights are the areas where our lawyers have experience.

What We Can Do For You: If you are the subject of an investigation or prosecution for White Collar Crime it is important that you speak to one of our criminal law specialists who can advise you about your rights when dealing with investigators. We will ensure that your rights are protected and provide you with high level representation.