Investment Crimes

The 21st-century financial crisis following the deregulation of the finance sector in the 1980s and 1990s not only led to the collapse of numerous banks but also turned large-scale investment criminals into household names. However, investment crimes can be traced back to the Great Depression and are a natural—if deviant—outgrowth of the modern financial system. The costs to individuals, corporations, and states can run into billions of dollars, and investment crime has become one of the most serious forms of nonviolent crime in the 21st century. Securities and investment fraud may be committed by a number of actors in the financial sector, including investors, brokers, financial advisers, and financial accountants.