< Back to previous page

Business in some countries 'impossible without corruption'

Published on 11 Aug 2009 under category: legal

Many companies think that there are countries where it is not possible to do business without bribery and corruption, a new study has found.

According to research by KPMG, two thirds of firms believe this to be the case, solicitors working with fraud crimes may be interested to hear.

However, despite this, only 35 per cent have stopped doing business in these countries due to the risk of corruption and bribery.

Meanwhile, a KPMG study has also found that 27 per cent of companies have undertaken internal investigations into potential corruption and bribery cases.

Alex Plavsic, head of fraud investigations for KPMG Forensic, suggested that fraud crimes may rise during the economic downturn.

He said this is because firms are having to fight harder for contracts, which may increase pressure to "over-ride bribery and anti-corruption laws".

Last week, Co-operative Financial Services revealed that it has cut fraud crimes through the use of auto-resolution technology.