Public institutions targeted by white-collar criminals

According to the latest "KPMG Forensic Fraud Barometer", Swiss courts dealt with 68 cases of white-collar crime in 2021. The total damage of CHF 567 million, including a CHF 300 million case, was 37 percent higher than in the previous year. The actual figures are likely to be much higher, as many cases are not even reported. Each year, KPMG's Forensic Fraud Barometer records the court cases that have been publicly heard and published in the media. The cases taken into account are those with an offense amount of more than CHF 50,000.

Public institutions most frequently affected by white-collar crime

With 25 out of a total of 68 cases heard by the courts, public institutions were particularly frequently targeted by white-collar criminals. In seven cases, there were convictions related to illegally obtained Covid 19 loans. "I expect that we will see more such cases in the next editions of our Fraud Barometer due to a delayed effect," explains Anne van Heerden, Head of Forensics at KPMG.

The second most court cases related to white-collar crime involved commercial companies - with a loss amount of CHF 134 million. Financial institutions were affected as victims in only three cases, with a single fraud case accounting for more than half of the total loss for 2021 at CHF 300 million.

Private individuals were the largest group of offenders

Commercial fraudsters were replaced by private individuals as the largest group of offenders in 2021. This group accounted for 23 out of 68 of all negotiated white-collar offenses, or one third. The average offense amount was around CHF 700,000. With 18 cases with a total offense amount of more than CHF 123 million, employees in executive functions ("management") were the second-largest offender group. The average amount of crime per case was almost CHF 7 million, which is around ten times higher than for the perpetrator group of private individuals.

"The crime amounts caused by management are generally higher than for private individuals or employees. On the one hand, this group of offenders often has inside information, and on the other hand, they are in a strong position to use this information for criminal purposes," explains Anne van Heerden.

Most cases in Zurich, largest in Bellinzona

Zurich was the region most affected by white-collar crime last year: with 22 out of 68 cases, this region accounted for just under a third of the crimes tried - compared with eight in the previous year. In the Lake Geneva region, which recorded the most white-collar crimes in the previous year with 19, only six cases were tried in 2021.

The largest cases of white-collar crime were heard at the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, including the largest case with an offense amount of CHF 300 million. The average offense amount of the largest six cases was over CHF 70 million. Even excluding the largest offense or damage amount of CHF 300 million, the average offense amounts heard in Bellinzona were many times higher than in the other regions.

(Social) insurance fraud most common offenses

The most frequent type of offense in 2021 was (social) insurance fraud, with 20 cases, which was litigated much more frequently compared to the previous year (2020: 8 cases). This is partly due to the seven fraud cases related to Covid 19 loans mentioned earlier. "White-collar criminals try to exploit new legal frameworks and loopholes in the system immediately and specifically for their own purposes," says forensic scientist Anne van Heerden. "Unsurprisingly, this was also the case with Covid 19 loans." Also on the rise last year were court cases involving fraud. In these cases, perpetrators convince the victim to make an advance payment under false pretenses, for example, but the payment is not followed by the agreed-upon or promised service.

Source and further information: KPMG