Almost Half of Asia Pacific Victims of Financial Crime, Says Thomson Reuters Report

Corporations in APAC remain vulnerable to financial crimes despite high spends on compliance processes

Almost half of the of the large organisations in Asia and Pacific countries have been victims of financial crime, despite the fact that corporations have been allocating about 3.1 per cent of their annual spend towards combating such crimes.

Data has been revealed by Thomson Reuters in a report titled, ‘Revealing the True Cost of Financial Crime’, showing that 49 per cent of people admitted that their organisation had suffered at least one incident of financial crime over the past 12 months, with cybercrime and fraud cited as the most common financial crimes. The report also states that 75 per cent organizations prefer avoiding risk rather than managing it by not working with high-risk vendors

Julia Walker, Head of Risk & Regtech, APAC, Thomson Reuters said, “Financial crime is not a faceless crime, the most vulnerable in our society are preyed on and exploited by organized crime for profit. Financial institutions are carrying the financial burden collectively spending billions trying to prevent money laundering and the proceeds of illicit activity. Year on year they are seeing greater amounts disappear from their business as result.

She added, “Thomson Reuters is committed to uncovering the true scale of the challenge, working together with financial institutions, governments, and law enforcement agencies to create awareness of the scale of the problem. By gathering better data and intelligence and forming coalitions, we will increase our ability to effectively fight financial crime across the world.”

Almost all those surveyed recognized that greater collaboration is vital to winning the war against financial crime, with 94 per cent of companies believing there should be more sharing of financial intelligence, while 93 per cent said that public-private partnerships should be increased and improved.