Financial crimes are pervasive threat to economy: CBI director

The "pervasive" threat of financial crimes and corruption is a challenge to the country's economy and global efforts are required to combat this menace, CBI chief Ranjit Sinha said.

"The growth of economy and its globalisation in the past three decades is primarily enabled by technology. The fraudsters are not lagging behind in adopting technology in committing financial crimes. In fact, they are quite adept at using technology to commit crime," he told an international conference of sleuths.

"Such pervasive threat of crime and corruption poses significant challenges not only to corporates but also to the nation's economy itself," he said, addressing law enforcement officials and experts from a number of countries, on the topic of 'Financial Crimes'.

The CBI director said the complexity of such crimes have increased with the passage of time and in these times of electronic transactions, the menace affects many countries in one go.

"We all know that financial crimes are not a new phenomenon. It took birth along with trade and commerce. As it is the outcome of greed, it is as old as the civilisation itself. Only the complexity and the quantum has changed with the times," he said.

In this era of globalised economy and electronic banking and commerce, Sinha said the threat faced is also global. 

"No nation, however powerful, can take up this formidable challenge single-handedly. There is an urgent need for concerted international action and the conferences like this lay the foundations for forging such alliances for enabling a collective and cohesive response," Sinha said.

"This conference will also provide an opportunity for the law enforcement agencies worldwide to come together and enter into meaningful partnerships to deal with common concerns in fighting financial crimes," he said.