Corporate crime control in China: an observation from culture perspective

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate role of penal approach in corporate crime control and to assess if compliance program can be accepted in China, the largest developing country with relatively little regulatory capacity and an immature financial market when compared to developed economies.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the general corporate crime control theory, a perspective from legal culture will be specially followed in studying control instruments.

Findings

This paper found that the criminal control approach has its limitations in corporate crime control in China and, therefore, argued that compliance programs are highly consistent with Asian legal cultures. However, unlike many developed economies, compliance programs have not been included in sentencing guidelines yet, which has been left to judges’ discretion.

Originality/value

The concept of compliance as a control instrument has been widely discussed in developed economies. Limited research observes areas such as China, which faces a notable dilemma, i.e. economics has been speedily booming, whereas regulation rules are relatively left behind.

Citation

Lin, J. (2019), "Corporate crime control in China: an observation from culture perspective", Journal of Money Laundering Control, Vol. 22 No. 3, pp. 472-479. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMLC-09-2018-0058