03.02.12 MACCS Middle East continues to score badly on bribery ranking

Fears about bribery and corruption are higher in the Middle East than in any other region, according to a new survey. The PricewaterhouseCoopers Economic Crime Survey comprises interviews with almost 3,900 executives worldwide on their perceptions of bribery and corruption risks.

Of 126 interviewed executives who are working in the Middle East, 39% said they expect to have to deal with bribery this year, compared with a worldwide average of 23%. The survey also found that corruption was a factor in 43% of economic crimes in the Middle East, nearly double the global average of 24%.

However, the survey reports that the Middle East saw a lower than average incidence of economic crime last year; only 28% of respondents there said that they had suffered from it, compared with 34% of global respondents.

PwC, in its analysis of the findings, suggested that this may reflect a lack of awareness of fraud in Middle Eastern companies. “It is possible that more organizations in the Middle East suffer from economic crime but lack the robust detection mechanisms that would allow for accurate reporting,” according to Tareq Haddad, the head of the Middle Eastern forensic division.

Supporting this is the fact that 2 out of 5 respondents have not performed a fraud risk assessment in the last twelve months. The cost of doing so can be steep: instances of fraud cost almost half of Middle East respondents between $100,000 and $5 million.

Sources: Financial Times, Arab News