Commonwealth Bank has referred two mortgage brokers and a string of accountants to police as it works to unravel a loan fraud using fake documents and international funds that could extend to $1 billion.
TheAustralian Financial Review in February reported that the country’s largest lender had uncovered a cluster of loans that had been procured using false documents including fake income statements created with the help of artificial intelligence, draft tax returns and shell companies.
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Max Mason covers financial crime, courts and corporate wrongdoing. Send encrypted tips to maxepmason.14 on messaging platform Signal (tinyurl.com/MaxMason). Connect with Max on Twitter. Email Max at max.mason@afr.com
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This category refers to crimes committed by employees or insiders against their own organizations. It is often the most damaging because the perpetrator has authorized access to systems.
Asset Misappropriation: The most common form, involving the theft of company resources. This ranges from simple “skimming” (taking cash before it’s recorded) to complex schemes involving the theft of inventory or intellectual property.
Payroll Fraud: Employees may create “ghost employees” on the system, falsify their own timesheets to claim unworked overtime, or divert salary payments to their own accounts.
Financial Statement Fraud: Management deliberately misrepresents the company’s financial health by inflating revenue or hiding liabilities to attract investors or meet performance bonuses.
