Tuesday 25th June, 2012

According to KPMG’s Fraud Barometer, the total value of UK fraud fell by £726m for the first six months of this year to £374m compared with £1.1bn during the same period of 2011. The fall was mainly due a decline in the number of fraud ‘super cases’ committed by management and employees coming to court from 131 cases in 2011 to 136 in 2012.

The data found that fraud committed from within organisations by both management and employees now makes up 61% of the value of all cases included in the Fraud Barometer. This represents a rise of 10% when compared to the same period in 2011 to £21 million (31 cases). The largest group of perpetrators of fraud by value is management which accounted for £206m of theft.

Hitesh Patel, UK Forensic partner, KPMG, said: “The extent and impact of fraud perpetrated from within businesses has historically been masked by a handful of exceptionally large cases coming to court, but the fall in such ‘super’ cases now shines a spotlight on the chronic and pernicious threat to businesses in these austere times.”

“Reduced controls present an attractive opportunity for opportunistic fraud by employees who may be experiencing personal and professional financial stress.”

He went on to say that; “The value lost through management fraud shows graphically that businesses need to ensure controls are more than simply trust where senior members of staff are concerned; an effective anti-fraud regime applies to all, not just to more junior staff.”