One in 4 Middle East firms suffer economic crimes since 2014

More than a quarter (26 percent) of organisations in the Middle East have experienced economic crimes in the past 24 months, lower than the global average of 36 percent but a 5 percent increase since 2014, according to a new report.
The latest PwC Middle East Economic Crime Survey said that despite efforts to combat economic crime, there has been no clear indication that levels in the Middle East or globally have decreased since 2011.
According to the survey for 2016, the number in the region who simply didn’t know if they’d been a victim was much higher than the global average (20 percent against 11 percent), indicating uncertainty as to whether their organisations are experiencing economic crime.
“The challenge for businesses is to close down the opportunities to commit economic crime. A major part of this is staying ahead of new threats, while developing new ways to prevent, detect and respond effectively to those threats. It’s also vital to ensure that organisations have a culture based on strong values, supported by robust policies and ethics and compliance programmes,” said Nick Robinson, PwC regional forensic services leader.

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