America has a different attitude to business crime than the UK. In the States the leeway allowed to entrepreneurs and business leaders is huge, free enterprise runs free, there are fewer rules and regulations and the rewards are huge.
But and this is a big but; if after all that generosity and freedom you actually take money that is not yours, that is fraud and fraud is just a type of theft.
It is not an accounting error, a misunderstanding of the rules, something your board forgot to approve, it is not something you can repay and keep your job. You are a thief and you have stolen millions and you are going to jail for a very long time, just as bank robbers do.
Sam Bankman-Fried has now discovered this hard truth. It is a pity that the UK doesn’t learn the lesson. In this country if you want to steal a lot of money just be a fraudster.
Fraud is hard to spot, difficult to stop, very hard to prosecute, juries just don’t understand the technicalities and if you are unlucky enough to get caught, the punishments are pathetic.
The US system is much better, all the prosecution has to prove is that the money you took is not yours.
I think a couple of 20 year jail sentences would improve business ethics in the UK, don’t you?
Economics, trade and Brexit, not necessarily in that order but the dog always comes first.
By Jonty Bloom Media
Ditto Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos. We could do with some decent jail sentences for all the Covid ppe fraud/theft