Fraud, cyber, and security risks are at all-time high level globally and in India the percentage of respondents affected by such incidents has increased over last 12 months, says a report.
According to Kroll Annual Fraud and Risk Report, in India, the percentage of respondents affected by fraud increased significantly by 21 percentage points in 2017 to 89 per cent while the global average was 84 per cent.
Moreover, 89 per cent of respondents in India experienced a fraud incident in the previous 12 months, compared to 68 per cent in 2016.
India also witnessed the highest incidence of fraud globally across three categories - theft of physical asset or stock, IP theft, piracy or counterfeiting and Corruption and bribery.
Further in five of the eleven categories, India witnessed an increase in percentage of respondents affected by fraud indicating that "risk of fraud is both widespread and in different forms", the report said.
The report however noted that though the incidents of fraud have increased, India's position as an investment destination has not got affected.
When all participants of the survey were asked whether they had been dissuaded from operating in a particular jurisdiction, India's position improved in 2017, as only 9 per cent (as against 19 per cent in 2016) claimed that they were being dissuaded from operating in the country.
"This suggests that while the risk of fraud remains high, India has improved its position as a preferred investment destination. Investing is an art and investors must manage and ride the associated risks," Kroll Managing Director and Head of South Asia Reshmi Khurana said.
Tarun Bhatia, Managing Director, Kroll South Asia, said while higher proportion of companies witnessed fraud during 2017, increasing number of companies are also becoming aware of risks related to fraud and are taking preventive measures to tackle the issue.
In India, companies are addressing fraud risks through a combination of measures with most common being better financial controls, IT security and due diligence on partners, clients, and vendors, he said.
"In coming years, however, combating information security risks would gain priority as fraud risk due to information theft is only likely to increase as India chases its digitisation dream," he added.
Kroll commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct an online worldwide survey of 540 senior executives who hold positions across multiple industries and geographies. The survey was fielded through June and August 2017.
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