NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 4 – Kenyan companies have lost as much as Sh5.5 billion in the last two years due to economic crimes, a new report has revealed.
According to a survey conducted by PricewaterCoopers, or PwC, economic crimes in Kenya remain prevalent with 58 percent of the 102 surveyed respondents saying they experienced such crimes.
The crimes include bribery and corruption, procurement fraud, asset misappropriation, and customer fraud.
The survey also found that bribery and corruption increased to 42 percent in 2019 from 30 percent posted a year earlier, forcing 70 percent of respondents to invest in programs that combat such crimes.
While commenting on the report, PwC’s Muniu Thoithi said most perpetrators of economic crimes in the last 24 months were internal actors at 36 percent, with external factors accounting for 27 percent of the reported incidences.
“This is consistent with past surveys where the main perpetrators of economic crimes have been internal factors,” Thoithi said.
- Gains made
The report, however, noted that forensic investigation among Kenyan companies is on the rise, with 63 percent of respondents saying they instituted disciplinary proceedings and terminated services of the implicated employees,
The survey also noted that Kenyan organizations have been investing in disruptive fraud-fighting technologies. More than half of the companies surveyed said they found communication and transaction monitoring to be of great value.
A third of those who had employed Artificial Intelligence said Biometric Authentication as the most widely and beneficial AI technology in fighting crime.
