Occupational fraud poses a substantial threat to organizations of all sizes, industries, and regions. This widespread form of financial crime can severely disrupt operations, leading to far-reaching consequences for victimized organizations.
From falsifying documents and assuming false identities to exploiting digital systems, the underlying goal remains the same: securing an unfair advantage, often financial.
The Occupational fraud report 2024, published by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) is based on the results of the ACFE 2023 Global Fraud Survey, an online survey opened to 53,118 Certified Fraud Examiners (CFEs) conducted from July 2023 to September 2023.
The ACFE defines occupational fraud as “the use of one’s occupation for personal enrichment through the deliberate misuse or misapplication of the employing organization’s resources or assets.”
The report indicated the top three major forms of occupational fraud that persists in Sub Saharan Africa include;
- Corruption – A scheme in which an employee misuses their influence in a business transaction in a way that violates their duty to the employer.
- Billing – A fraudulent disbursement scheme in which a person causes their employer to issue a payment by submitting invoices for fictitious goods or services, inflated invoices, or invoices for personal purchases
- Non cash – Any scheme in which an employee steals or misuses noncash assets of the victim organization
The top 10 African countries with the highest occupational fraud cases according to the Occupational fraud report 2024 are presented below;
| Rank | Country | Number of Reports |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
South Africa |
88 |
|
2 |
Nigeria |
62 |
|
3 |
Kenya |
40 |
|
4 |
Uganda |
13 |
|
5 |
Ghana |
12 |
|
6 |
Zimbabwe |
11 |
|
7 |
Congo DRC |
10 |
|
8 |
Liberia |
5 |
|
9 |
Malawi |
5 |
|
10 |
Namibia |
5 |
Among the eight geographical regions examined, Southern Asia had the highest percentage of corruption cases (74%), while the United States and Canada had the smallest percentage of cases involving corruption (35%). The percentage of corruption cases in Sub Saharan Africa stood at 59%.
The report also shed light on the asset recovery process in Sub-Saharan Africa, revealing that 49% of reported cases resulted in no recovery of stolen assets. In contrast, 10% of cases achieved full recovery, while 41% managed to recover assets partially.
