The sooner we begin treating white-collar crime as we do other crimes, the better

We’re finally getting around to holding directors of large companies accountable for their financial statements but it won’t be easy, more needs to be done, writes Chris Blackhurst

The London office EY, formerly Ernst & Young, accountants to electronic payments fraudsters Wirecard (AFP via Getty)

A BBC Radio 4 programme this week brought me up short.

In A Bad Business, presenter Lesley Curwen recounted how it is 20 years since the fall of Enron. Twenty years.

My mind went back to before the fraudulent Texan energy giant’s collapse, to a Labour Party Conference. Tony Blair was in his pomp and Enron’s senior team were in town, accompanied by an entourage of lobbyists and promoters. The Americans were expanding internationally and they had come to make their pitch.