Emerging Risks in Financial Crime Prevention in Thailand Exposed by Latest Survey

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Despite a decline in reported financial crime incidents in Thailand, corporations in the country are increasingly vulnerable to emerging risks in fraud prevention. A recent survey has revealed that fraudsters are adapting their methods and leveraging new technologies to breach defenses, leading to a significant number of undetected cases.

Vulnerability to Financial Crime

According to the report, 33% of Thai companies were affected by financial crime during the past two years. Breakdown of the findings:

• 66% of those affected discovered one to five incidents: This suggests that many corporations are failing to detect and prevent multiple instances of financial crime.
• 9% reported being hit more than ten times: Alarmingly, nearly one in ten companies have been victimized by financial crime on numerous occasions.

Types of Financial Crime

The survey identified the following types of financial crime:

• Asset misappropriation
• Procurement fraud
• Bribery and corruption

Insider Threats

Insiders pose a significant threat to corporations, with 59% of cases perpetrated by operations staff. Collusion between insiders and external parties was responsible for 18% of incidents.

External Actors

External actors acting alone accounted for only 16% of incidents. This highlights the importance of strengthening defenses against both internal and external threats.

Whistleblowers: A Vital Detection Channel

Interestingly, nearly one-third (30%) of crimes were discovered through tip-offs from whistleblowers or informants. This underscores the importance of investing in whistleblowing programs to prevent financial crime.

Adopting a Proactive Approach

Experts caution that Thai companies should not neglect other detection channels and must adopt a more proactive approach to financial crime prevention. By doing so, they can avoid paying the steep price of leaving themselves exposed.