82% of local firms fell victim to financial crimes
Over the past 12 months, 82 per cent of Singapore companies surveyed have fallen victim to financial crime, according to a report released yesterday.
This is higher than the 75 per cent of companies surveyed across the Asia-Pacific.
The report by Refinitiv, a provider of financial markets data and infrastructure, also found a "lax approach" to due diligence checks when onboarding new customers, suppliers and partners, which creates an environment where criminal activity can thrive.
Still, 42 per cent of Singapore companies experienced financial crime by their own employees.
Over the next year, companies in Singapore plan to spend on average 46 per cent more to detect and prevent financial crime, compared with 51 per cent globally.
And 69 per cent of Singapore companies have been adopting new technologies to combat financial crime, according to the report.
Globally, 97 per cent of companies believe technology can significantly help in preventing financial crimes, with artificial intelligence and machine learning being the top choice, followed by cloud-based data and technology.
Despite this, 75 per cent of Singapore companies are struggling to harness technological advancements.
When it comes to sharing information, 86 per cent of respondents from Singapore said data privacy regulations are "restricting" their ability to collaborate against financial crime.
But 85 per cent of Asia-Pacific respondents said they had some sort of an existing partnership or task force in their country to combat financial crime.
Refinitiv's study was conducted by an independent third party in March, garnering responses from 3,138 managers at large global organisations. - THE STRAITS TIMES
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