"The most comprehensive survey of economic crime has revealed that 70% of large companies in Britain have been hit by fraud.

The report by Price Waterhouse Coopers showed that firms lose an average of £ 4 million each year to embezzlement and theft by members of staff. The survey was based on interviews with executives at 3,400 companies, government bodies and non-profit organisations in 15 European countries.

Fraud is estimated to be costing at least £ 2.2 billion every two years with each company having an average loss of £ 4 million. Outsiders rarely seem to be involved as in Britain, 89% of all crime appears to be being committed by employees.

Methods of preventing crime do not seem to be improving. About 80% of the companies that have been victims of fraud retain confidence in their control systems even though they have been shown to be ineffective."