Four out of five companies worldwide affected by fraud: Kroll Global Fraud Report

25 September 2007

Four out of five companies worldwide have suffered from corporate fraud in the past three years, says a survey from the world''s leading risk consulting company Kroll, based on a poll of 900 senior executives worldwide, conducted on its behalf by Economist Intelligence Unit, the business information arm of The Economist Group, publisher of The Economist.

Kroll provides a broad range of investigative, intelligence, financial, security and technology services to help clients reduce risks, solve problems and capitalise on opportunities.

According to the report, 49 per cent of Indian respondents disclosed that corporate fraud was much more prevalent currently than three years ago. For China, this figure is 42 per cent. In both India and China, 60 per cent of those polled see themselves as being vulnerable to demands for bribes and corruption.

New technologies, new investors and expansion into new overseas markets have opened the door to different forms of fraud, the report concludes. In some sectors, more than a fifth of companies have lost more than $1 million. Seven per cent of Indian respondents said fraud has cost them between $100,000 and $1 million, while 39 per cent said it cost them below $100,000.

"As our society has become more reliant on information technology, increased globalisation and greater interconnectedness, certain exposures have expanded right along with them," according to Jules Kroll, founder of the company.

"Dramatically new exposures such as ID theft, various IT crimes, and false reporting by asset managers were rarely seen 25 years ago."