Fraud schemes in Lebanon

Abstract

Occupational fraud scheme is when an employee misuses his role in the company and commits fraudulent activities for his personal benefit. Occupational fraud is divided into three categories: asset misappropriation, corruption and fraudulent financial statements. The annual report of the "Association of Certified Fraud Examiners" published in 2014, called "Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse", investigates in 1,483 occupational fraud cases which occurred in 100 different countries. 53 cases happened in the Middle East and North Africa (around 3.9%) and two were present in Lebanon. The ACFE have found that 85% of the cases were related to the Asset misappropriations category. 9% were related to fraudulent financial statements and for the corruption category, 37% of the cases were present (Association, 2014). In this report, we had made the same study but for the companies in Lebanon to find out the most common fraud method present in our companies. Results are discussed in details in this report.