EDITORIAL: Tackle corporate fraud – Business Daily

For the longest time, corporate Kenya has shied away from revealing that among its workers are dishonest employees who dip their fingers in the cookie jar to make a quick shilling.

The desire to maintain a clean image before the public in the quest to protect their brand has meant that incidents of fraud and theft are ‘quietly’ dealt with and minimal punishment meted.

This practice has emboldened some workers to steal while creating a public image that rotten apples were only employed in government and State-owned companies. A recent report by consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) indicated that graft was rife in corporate Kenya. The report found that bribery and corruption-linked fraud has overtaken procurement-related vice to become the fastest growing form of economic crime in Kenya in the last two years

The report, based on feedback from 102 senior managers and board members, suggests that four in every 10 business leaders, or 42 percent of respondents, have experienced a corruption or bribery incident in the last two years. But while punishment is good, prevention is better. Companies must be encouraged to invest in systems and strategies that eliminate such occurrences.

This is a rise from a third of the organisations in 2018 despite a spirited battle against the vice by institutions mandated to fight economic crimes such as Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

Some companies like KCB and Safaricom have revealed how they dealt with crooked workers including termination and even prosecution.

This should be the norm, with the target being prosecution.