One in five firms hit by business crimes, says expert

One in five companies are affected by business felonies, according to an internationally-linked detectives body.Karl Stephan Novak of the European Detectives Association (EURODET) said today (Fri) around 20 per cent of companies with more than 250 employees have become victims of business crimes.Novak – who stressed that the dark figure was expected to be significantly higher – said rivalling businesses focused on product information, research results, investment plans and budget details among other data.Staff who are unsatisfied with their situation are most likely to agree spy on their colleagues and bosses for competitors, according to the expert.These announcements come on the heels of revelations that the overwhelming majority of business crimes are carried out by firms’ own employees.KPMG Forensic Team Senior Manager Dieter Stangl-Krieger said research has found own staff were in charge for almost 90 per cent of felonies like accounting fraud, embezzlement and money laundering at Austrian firms. He added the majority of fraudsters worked in companies’ upper managements.Stangl-Krieger appealed on firms to become more sensitive towards business crimes and improve their internal surveillance systems. He also suggested the introduction of workshops and boxes where whistleblowers can put in their tip-offs anonymously.