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CORPORATE CRIME OBSERVATORY
User have to score at least 80% to receive the VIRTEU certificate, they have to reach such a threshold repeating the quiz.
Result
SCORE: 18/20
Q1.4 Which of the following statements about the above terms is not true?
All of these activities weaken the tax morale of taxpayers, and make it harder to get taxpayers to pay their fair share.
All of these activities distort competition.
​All of these activities result in people paying less tax, and result in tax gaps that should be collectable.
All of these activities are illegal and if caught will lead to criminal sanctions.
Q2.2 What are tax havens?
​They are secretive places where companies can let executives have holidays without incurring in taxes.
They are secretive bank accounts in the same country where a company makes profits that tax investigators cannot access the records to.
They are countries or jurisdictions that enable corporations and individuals to escape the rule of law in the countries where they operate and live, and to pay less tax than they should in those countries.
They are secretive offshore countries with no tax laws and where no tax is paid.
Q2.3 Which of the following scenarios is an example of tax avoidance?
An entrepreneur has not filed tax returns in over four years by arranging for their income to be paid into bank accounts and cryptocurrency exchange accounts under the names of other people rather than themself.
A businessman sets up an offshore company in a tax haven and channelled the salaries of beneficiaries through the low tax shell corporation in order to avoid paying income taxes.
Three individuals made payments to a high-ranking member of a Parliament and the president of a state-owned and state-controlled electricity company in exchange for assistance in securing a $200 million contract to provide power-related services for citizens.
A business owner deposited money from illegal activities into a bank through the business he owns, along with his legitimate daily cash sales. He then moved the money between different accounts, and eventually bought real estate. Finally, transferred the money to accounts in offshore tax havens. It is now hard to trace the criminal money back to its illegal origins.
Q2.4 Are tax avoidance strategies always legal?
Tax avoidance is very simple, always legal and is not criminal in nature.
Tax avoidance is complex and can fall into a grey area where it is unclear if it is legal, or illegal, until decided by a judge or other authority.
​Tax avoidance is always illegal and should always be prosecuted.
​Tax avoidance is complex but is always considered legal.
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I – It is the theft of VAT from a government by criminal organisations.
II – It is the theft of VAT from a person buying fairground equipment
III – It relies on the abuse of the cross-border transactions.
IV – It exploits differences in how VAT is treated in different European countries.
Q3.2 What do you think carousel fraud is?
I, II and III
II, III and IV
I, III and IV
I, II, III and IV
Q3.3 Which of the following scenarios is an example of tax evasion?
For over a decade, a technology company made payments to government officials and civil servants around the world, amounting to approximately EUR 1.2 billion. Whilst the company and decision-makers profited, citizens in the affected countries paid the costs of overpriced necessities such as roads.
​A private investment bank created at least 50 shell companies in tax havens around the world. These companies channelled at least EUR 20bn between 2010 and 2015. Some of this money flowed into the global financial system, and bank owners purchased luxury real estate.
A company director cheated the tax authority by massively under-declaring his company’s income. Whilst the annual turnover was approximately EUR 1m, he declared it as EUR 250,000 and made a smaller tax payment than the law requires.
In order not to pay income tax on the interest earned by his cash savings, an individual has been putting his money into an Individual Savings Account for the last eight months.
Q4.1 How can you define bribery?
Bribery is the illegal act of gaining an unfair advantage by promising, offering, giving, asking for, or receiving something valuable in return for changing the behaviour of a public decision maker.
Bribery is the use of threats of violence or harm in order to change the behaviour of an official when they make a decision.
​Bribery is trying to influence the actions of those in a position of power by publicly declaring payments or donations, and aiming to change behaviour in line with the law.
​Bribery is the threat of releasing harmful information about a public official if they do not act in a way that the is demanded.
Q4.2 What does the term ‘state capture’ mean?
State capture is when politicians and businesses work together to influence a country’s decision-making processes, laws, regulation, and policing of regulation. It is a form of corruption and benefits the businesses at the cost of others by making it easier to get away with harmful conduct.
State capture is when one country uses military force to take over another country. They capture that state and put their own government in it.
State capture is when charities, NGO’s, or other public interest groups try to persuade a government to help a certain group of the people who are suffering hardship.
​State capture is when officials use public money to give contracts to businesses they or their friends or family have a hand in, and do not tell anyone that they would profit from giving that contract, or their friends or family are involved.
Q4.3 Who are the victims of national and government corruption?
There are many direct and indirect victims of corruption, including the public and taxpayers whose money is misused, organisations who can’t compete on a level playing field, the public through a lack of government accountability, and other countries who can’t attract business because the rules are uneven.
The person taking part in the corruption is the victim as they are worried about being found out and punished.
​The only real victims of corruption are investors of businesses who struggle to compete because of the corruption, and do not get as much dividend paid because of less profits.
There are no real victims of corruption
Q4.4 Which of these is NOT an example of corruption?
Making a payment to public officials to secure or speed up a normal regulatory job.
​A senior politician giving a high paid and powerful job in the government to a close friend or family member, and not using the normal hiring processes.
Politicians accepting secret donations from large businesses and not publicly declaring them, then giving those businesses large contracts.
​Politicians meeting with business leaders through official avenues to discuss their concerns and listen to their opinions.
Q5.1 Which of these is an example of whistleblowing?
​A person sees someone break into a shop and calls the police.
​Someone who works for a company tells their boss their colleague has been stealing office equipment.
Someone who works for a business and their manager has told them not to follow health and safety law, so they report this to the company director.
A person sees a company dumping dangerous chemicals in a river, so they report this to a journalist.
Q5.2 Why are whistleblowers so important to anti-corruption?
Whistleblowers have an internal understanding of an organisation’s workings, and sometimes decision-making processes. Because of this they can be the first to know when something is going wrong and can alert others to stop it early.
Whistleblowers can do an investigation instead of authorities, saving them time and money.
​Whistleblowers who have also been part of corruption are an easy target for authorities to prosecute.
Whistleblowers help regulators to look better by telling them about illegal/wrongful acts.
Q5.3 Are whistleblowers effective at unveiling fraud and corruption in the corporate world?
No, the best way of identifying fraud and corruption is through external auditing.
No, there is no empirical evidence that demonstrates whistleblowers are effective in unveiling fraud and corruption within an organisation.
No, whistleblowers are external to the organisation and, as such, they are unaware of the relevant facts.
​Yes, whistleblowers can be really effective at unveiling fraud and corruption in an organisation.
Q5.4 What is the best way for a company to respond to a whistleblower?
To tell the person that the wrongdoing is none of their business, and if they tell anyone else then they will be fired.
​To take their concerns seriously, do an investigation, and protect the whistleblower from being fired or other acts to harm them.
​To thank the person for making the report, but do not investigate it.
Make an example of the reporter to stop others being disloyal by firing them and punishing them.
