For observers of the Indian corporate scene, the finding that India's business ethics practices at both the individual and institutional level are abysmal, will not come as a shock. Nevertheless, the scale of erosion of ethical business practice in Indian corporates is surprising. The conclusions of two recent global surveys on frauds and other economic offences conducted by consulting firms EY and PwC, make for a depressing reading. The surveys found that more than a quarter of the Indian respondents they contacted were affected by economic crimes. EY's 14th Global Fraud Survey, for instance, reports that 28 per cent of its respondents in India cited bribery as an accepted practice for doing business. What's worse is that these economic crimes take place even though most organisations have institutional frameworks on business ethics and compliance, as well as a code of conduct for employees. The trouble is much of that exists in form but has not been made effective in spirit. Leadership has much to do with this. PwC's Global Economic Crime Survey 2016, for instance, says 94 per cent of the Indian respondents stated that their organisations had a clear code of conduct, yet only 15 per cent indicated that their leaders walk the talk. About 24 per cent mentioned communication and training on ethical behaviour was unclear. Frauds are committed by executives at different levels within a company, but typically by those at junior to middle management level, according to these studies. These include misappropriation of assets, cybercrimes, and procurement frauds, besides bribery and corruption. Sometimes, the top management is involved, as evinced by the growing list of 'wilful defaulters'. The lack of a strong whistleblower law, as well as the absence of an internal culture of encouraging disclosure, has made matters worse. Many instances of fraud, bribery and