Most frauds in India do not come into light, says survey

"In India, 88 per cent of frauds are not communicated. Enforcement action is taken in one-quarter of cases, disciplinary action occurred in 25 per cent of cases and resignation/voluntary retirement in 19 per cent", said the survey.

In Asia, sometimes fraud can go undetected for ten years or more, said the survey which was released today. The survey findings are based on research of 348 actual fraud investigations carried out by KPMG in 69 countries, many of which were never made public.

"The duration of fraud prior to detection in Asia is an average of five years, with 16 per cent of frauds going undetected for 10 years or more, compared to 4.2 years in North America and 3.7 years in Western Europe," it said.

The latest data, based on 69-nations, reveals a slight decrease in the overall internal disclosure of frauds, down from 50 per cent in 2007 to 46 per cent. "Full disclosure of details fell from 35 per cent in 2007 to 13 per cent in 2011. India (88 per cent of frauds not communicated) and Eastern Europe (72 percent) have least propensity to reveal details of fraud, while the most transparent countries are South Africa, Australia and New Zealand," KPMG noted.

Corporate fraudsters are typically male in the age group of 36-45 years and often commit fraud against their own employer. "Additionally, the typical fraudster will work in the finance-function or a finance related-role (32 per cent), often for more than 10 years (33 per cent) and usually in a senior management role or board role (in aggregate 53 per cent)," the report said.

Company board members and those working within the chief executive or managing director’s offices are increasingly committing more fraud. The report pointed out that company board members and those working within the chief executive or managing director's offices are increasingly committing more fraud.

KPMG's Executive Director (Forensic Services) Rohit Mahajan said that when frauds blow up, it is typically several years down the line, when the value of the deception has multiplied and all the warning signs have been missed.