[jacquesm]

Those are called 'fishing expeditions'. And given the complexity of the legal system if someone is active in enough fields there will always be something they did that you can use to throw the book at them. You'd have to live like a hermit not to break the occasional law. What is harder to establish is how many of these transgressions would be serious enough to materially impact someone or to cause them to go to jail.

In countries where legal expenses are high and punishments are sever (i.e. the USA) it can be trivial to find something damning enough to put someone behind bars. In countries where the bar for prison sentencing is substantially higher and legal costs are more manageable the most authorities could do is waste someone's time. This is one of those aspects in which societies the world over markedly differ.