Give an account of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) in business law

What will be an ideal response?

Organized crime has a pervasive influence on many parts of the U.S. economy. To combat this activity, Congress enacted the Organized Crime Control Act. The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) is part of this act. Originally, RICO was intended to apply only to organized crime. However, the broad language of its statute has been used against non-organized crime defendants as well. RICO, which provides for both criminal and civil penalties, is one of the most important laws affecting business today. RICO makes it a federal crime to acquire or maintain an interest in, use income from, or conduct or participate in the affairs of an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity. Business-related crimes, such as bribery, embezzlement, mail fraud, and wire fraud, are also considered racketeering. RICO provides for the forfeiture of any property or business interests that were gained because of its violations. This provision allows the government to recover investments made with monies derived from racketeering activities. Persons injured by a RICO violation can bring a private civil RICO action against the violator to recover damages for injury to business or property.