Corruption Who?

“The more corrupt the state, the more the laws.” Publius Cornelius Tacitus said. And in the Middle East we are the masters of passing laws. So, it’s not a big surprise to see most of the Middle East countries at the lower half of Corruption Perception Index by Transparency International. 

Recently PwC released its Middle East Economic Crime Survey. Unsurprisingly, the Survey results confirm the need for more robust fraud detection and investigation mechanisms in organizations in the Middle East. Below are some findings from the survey:

• More than a quarter of businesses and organizations reported economic crime in the last 12 months.

• Twenty-eight percent of respondents said they had suffered, with asset misappropriation, bribery and corruption, cybercrime and accounting fraud cited as the main crimes.

• Thirty-nine percent of respondents said their organizations were likely to face bribery and corruption in the next 12 months, compared to the global average of 23 percent.

• Two in five respondents reported that their organizations have not performed a fraud risk assessment in the last 12 months.

• 17 percent of known fraud was detected by accident compared to the global average of 8 percent.

• Almost half of the respondents reported that incidents of fraud cost their organizations between $100,001 and $5m in the last 12 months.

And my favorite: 

• The survey said 69 percent of respondents indicated that most serious fraud incidents were committed by internal perpetrators, who are typically profiled as male, between 31 and 40 years old, a graduate degree holder and has been with the company for three to five years.