76% of Singapore's senior execs worried about financial crime risks: Report

Business managers here are more concerned than their peers overseas that their organisations will be targeted by criminals in 2025, noted a new report.

- Chor Khieng Yuit

It found that 76 per cent of executives polled were worried about getting entangled in financial crimes ranging from money laundering, fraud and scams to bribery and corruption – slightly ahead of the global level of 71 per cent.

The report from Kroll, a provider of global financial and risk advisory solutions, also noted that 82 per cent of senior management in the Asia-Pacific region expect more financial crime in 2025, the highest level in the world.

The firm polled 600 senior executives from around the world in late 2024 on the state of financial crime in their organisations.

The Singapore findings highlight that 68 per cent of respondents cited cyber-security threats and 61 per cent pointed to criminals using artificial intelligence (AI) as the two factors that will fuel financial crime in 2025.

Kroll noted that fraudsters are posing challenges for regulators by using AI to generate fake images, video or audio.

But it also noted that if AI is harnessed properly, it can help organisations detect and prevent illegal financial activity.