Quarter of companies report economic crime over 2 years

Budapest, February 24 (MTI) – About 26 percent of Hungarian companies have experienced economic crime in the past two years, according to a fresh survey by consultancy PwC.

The percentage was well under the 37 percent reported globally, but PwC said “the actual numbers are probably even higher”.

One in five respondents in Hungary said that their company was asked to pay a bribe in the last two years. One in four said their companies had experienced at least one instance of procurement fraud during the period.

PwC Hungary Advisory partner Miklos Fekete said economic crime affects every industry in Hungary, but procurement fraud and cybercrime have gradually emerged as major forms of fraud.

The survey shows the percentage of companies experiencing cybercrime rose to 17 percent in 2014 from just 4 percent in 2011.

“It appears that, compared to their regional and global peers, Hungarian organisations underestimate the risk that they may become victims of cybercrime. The rate of reported economic crime might be lower than the regional and global average, but the new forms of fraud are often hard to detect and have a high latency,” said George Surguladze, PwC Hungary’s Forensic Services Leader.

The global survey included responses from 91 Hungarian companies.

Photo: steve4security12.blog.hu

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters