A report regarding financial fraud and crime was released by Kroll. The report found that 69% of global executives and risk professionals worldwide expect financial crime risks to increase over the next 12 months. Cybersecurity and data breaches are expected to be the primary drivers of increased financial crime risks, followed by financial pressures on organizations.

A survey found that to counter a potential uptick in financial crime risks, two-thirds (67%) of respondents globally are planning to invest more in technology, with nearly half of the respondents (49%) citing data integrity as the biggest challenge when implementing new technologies.

Key findings from the eight countries represented in the survey include:

• The financial crime risk posed by cryptocurrency is a source of concern for 78% of participants.
• Fifty-six percent say that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have been implemented into financial crime compliance programs, though relatively new in the majority of cases.
• In Europe, sanctions compliance poses a significant concern for respondents, with 48% of respondents in the U.K., Germany and France identifying geographic consistency as the top challenge for sanctions compliance.
• Seventy-two percent of surveyed companies in Brazil are expecting an uptick in regulatory enforcement actions in the next 12 months, slightly higher than Mexico (70%) and the U.S. (70%).
• Seventy-eight percent of surveyed companies in the UAE and Singapore plan on dedicating more time towards enhancing supply chain controls or due diligence due to potential exposure to sanctions.

Read the full report here.