FRAUD AND CORRUPTION IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION
R&C: Could you provide an overview of some of the key trends relating to fraud and corruption in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region over the last year or so? How prevalent are such activities throughout the region?
Nababan: Corruption and bribery are still very prevalent in the APAC region. The CPI Index 2017 provides an insight into the state of corruption in this region. Even the cleanest countries are not free of corruption scandals. Although all countries in the region pledge their commitment to eradicate corruption through regulations and enforcement, actual implementation is still far from maturity. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) are still trying to reach common ground on a framework of collaboration to fight corruption in the region. Along with the rise of the digital era, threats from online and mobile fraud are growing rapidly in APAC.
Gough: Several issues have come to our attention in the past year. These include leak of proprietary information cases where employees use their contacts at competitors to gain an advantage in bidding exercises, conflict of interest matters, and instances of inappropriate entertainment of public officials – not always directly around the time of new bidding exercises, but where the relationship becomes inappropriate as to the types of entertainment. Many companies have addressed the issue of inappropriate after-hours entertainment. However, this problem continues in certain APAC countries that are still patriarchal.
Jul-Sep 2018 Issue
FTI Consulting
John Deere
Johnson Controls
Microsoft Asia
Siemens