1.

KPMG Singapore Fraud Survey 2014

2. Did you know that the term 'White Collar Crime

The pressures that define the rational choice theory of
committing red-collar crime are: Greed Retaliation A
compulsion to prove superiority
Signs of a Fraudster
o It is important to denote the suspects style. If he/she
acts friendly, yet clenches his/her fists, this could be a
sign of a person ready to snap. The fraud investigator
should look into the persons past and determine if there
is anything that stands out. For example, are there
reports of manipulation, either of family members or
within an organization? This is often a sign of fraudulent
behavior.
o Does the person show signs of irresponsibility or a lack
of duty to friends or family? If the suspect acts
grandiose and has a self-inflated ego, this can also be a
warning sign of negative behavior
3. Alleged fraud at Keppel Club
Police probing alleged fraud at Keppel Club involving possibly
$14m
o Transfer fee cost $12,000. Employee did not declare and
might siphon off $14m. Not known if phantom
membership issued or transfer of membership
Red Flags
o Trust was placed on employee since she worked for so
long.
Segregation of duties to reduce opportunities;
collection of money and another to deal with
membership.
4. Charles Ponzi - The Fraudster Who This Type of Fraud is Named
After
Ego led to his downfall, people buy into it due to greed and
his promise that he will return the gains to them. Classified
under revenue and assets obtained under fraud.
5. Aging Japanese Investment Fraud
Considered under unwary individuals as many old Japanese
do not have the financial knowledge to distinguish between
fraud and real investment
This is coupled by the economic recession, government
encouragement.

Another kind of fraud is the boiler room fraud used against

vulnerable victims and elderly.
o Subjected to high-pressure sells and repeated calls
until they agreed to invest.

6. China to get tough on bank fraud after man wrongfully jailed

Lack of internal controls has provided the opportunities for
the two employees to siphon off passcodes from customers
leading to deposits missing.
Regulators plays an important role in making it a statutory
requirement since banks have little motivation to improve
on their internal controls
7. Adenan Joins Mahathir To Condemn Timber Corruption!
The main condition for this case is "Opportunity" as the
person has the power to issue license and even to collude
within the industry. Be it legal or illegal, it is in his power to
control the law as he has perceived. Of course, "Incentive"
in this case is far more attractive than any other place.
The frauds I could identify involve "Revenue & Assets
Obtained by Fraud" and "Expenditures & Liabilities for an
Improper Purpose"
8. S$50m lost in investment scam (Surewin4u)
Optimism Bias is the "tendency of individuals to
underestimate the likelihood of experiencing adverse
events"
If it is too good to be true, it is not true.
9. White Collar Crime
It is estimated that a great deal of white-collar crime is
undetected or, if detected, it is not reported. Many believe
for years, white-collar criminals routinely received a "slap
on the wrist" sentences of probation, or at worst a prison
term measured in months, not year and they eroded
people's faith in the financial system. In the wake of
corporate scandals at Enron, World Com, Tyco and Global
Crossing, there's little doubt that serious corporate crime
warranted serious sentences that could deter future fraud
of that magnitude. Some believe the government has been
getting tough on White Collar crime, others not so much.
Disincentive not strong enough for deterrence purpose.
Prosecution do not have the power and that it is costly to
bring them to justice.


10.

Hard to prove criminal intent

11.

Fake Chinese bank scams people out of $32M

Solutions
o Chinese government should provide a list of licensed
and regulated bank for the public to check before
they deposit their money
o Investors should verify that the "bank" is licensed to
collect deposit especially when the amount is
significant
o Educate the public especially in the rural area about
scams that are happening
o conmen took advantage that the people from rural
area didn't understand or know the proper legislation
involved to verify whether this bank is valid. 2%
interest is quite a high rate for a deposit account as
well. The people who deposited were also attracted
to such a good deal in which it blinded them from the
truth.

12.

The horses take a nasty fall

Opportunities:
o Little to no segregation of duties - She was able to
authorize and open accounts, make payments, write
checks, move money between accounts and provide
narratives to the mayor and members of the city
council explaining why the account balances were
negative or didn't balance.
Incentives/Pressures:
o Able to live a lavish lifestyle - When arrested, she
had two residences and the horse farm in Dixon, a
home in Englewood, Fla., a $2.1 million luxury motor
home, more than a dozen trucks, trailers and other
motorized farm vehicles, a 2007 H2 Hummer, a 2005
Ford Thunderbird convertible, a 1967 Chevrolet
Corvette roadster, a pontoon boat, approximately
$224,898 in cash from two bank accounts and other
assets allegedly purchased with fraud process
Attitudes/Rationalisation:
o When questioned, she will make her own claims and
explanations, and the council members trusted her
and believed her explanations. No one ever made a
call to the state's auditor general to verify
Crundwell's claims.

13.

14.

Accountant in dock over S$40m swindle

Perpetrators committed the fraud as he needed the money
to finance his gambling habits. Considered to be pressure
in the fraud triangle
Knowledge of human behavior is the most crucial skill to
fight fraud. As such, coworkers in the company may have
suspected these fraud cases much earlier, before they are
uncovered. Therefore, the best way to counter fraud I feel
is to set up an effective whistle-blowing channel to detect
fraud in its early stages and deter anyone from committing
fraud.

15. Accounts administrator pocketed money to pay off gambling

debts
Again we can see that gambling is the "Pressure" under the
fraud triangle that resulted in this fraud. I guess when
Jasmine Teo offered to help to bank in the daily takings can
be seen as red flags for the company. The company should
have proper internal control to only allowcashier to handle
cash. And cashier should not pass the responsibility to
other staff.
16.

Healthcare Fraud
This type of fraud is committed by healthcare givers and
this could be linked to the "Fraud Triangle. Opportunities
were created due to the poor controls, as medical
personnel could actually make a claim from Medicare for a
more expensive service/product but actually just use a
cheaper alternative. Under the second link that I have
provided, there are many examples as to how people
commit this type of fraud. This fraud is commonly done as
a collusion, with doctors/nurses and other healthcare givers
coordinating to appear like they are actually providing
medical services but they are actually not.

17.

Ponzi schemer gets 25 years in jail for US$105m fraud

Applying the Fraud triangle, I feel that one MAJOR
contributing factor is the presence of opportunity.
Investors fall prey too easily to such schemes again and
again because they are unwary, make irrational decisions,
and simply do not take enough actions as a cautious
investor.

18.

19. Ex-relationship manager gets 11 months for cheating bank

customers
However, unlike previous cases discussed before, we can
see that in this case, Mr Too Jin Cai had breached his
fiduciary duty as a bank officer of United Overseas Bank.
Being represented as an employee of UOB, I feel that there
was not much the deceived victims could do to guard
themselves against getting cheated as Mr Too Jin Cai even
went on to "issue assurance letters with UOB's letterhead
stating that the funds were principal guaranteed."
Additionally, this episode has led me to one possible
conjecture- the remuneration for relationship managers like
Mr Too Jin Cai may be heavily commission-based. If he were
able to successfully sell investment schemes to investors,
he may be able to enjoy huge bonuses, but if investors are
risk-averse and less inclined to buy such bonds, it would
negatively impact his commission and thus the amount of
remuneration he receives, which may pressure him to
cheat the three customers.