Corporate Fraud: The Insolvency Offences

Abstract

This article responds to the Cork Committee report which discusses in part the criminal law relating to fraudulent debtors. The way that these issues are addressed by the committee is inadequate and contains a number of inconsistencies. The author outlines a number of the defects in the current law including issues with wording, vagueness and uncertainty, procedural and evidentiary issues, and the lack of discussion about the role of criminal law in this sphere. These defects are then examined in relation to a range of contexts such as fraudulent transfer, fraudulent concealment and removal, and gambling. These are just some of the issues that can be seen in this area of the law. Abstract by Rose Goss.

Keywords: fraudulent debtors, criminal law, fraudulent transfer, fraudulent concealment and removal, burden of proof, privilege against self incrimination, gambling, hazardous speculation

JEL Classification: K1, K14