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CHAPTER 3
COMMERCIAL CRIMES
3.1 “Commercial Crime” is not a single and legally defined offence, but
a mixture of fraud, commercial deception, false accounting, counterfeit
instruments, technology crimes and other offences of similar nature. The
following sections provide an overview and a comparative assessment of the
commercial crimes reported in 2009.
Commercial Crimes and Syndicated Frauds
3.2 In 2009, 71 serious commercial fraud complaints were reported, a
decrease of 22.8% compared to 2008. The reported losses decreased
significantly by 46.6% to $2,549.16 million in 2009. The relatively huge loss in
2008 was primarily attributable to a large-scale “Property Fraud” and “False
Accounting” case, which involved losses of $1,815.00 million. Relevant figures
are set out below –
2008 2009 % Change
No. of Complaints 92 71 –22.8%
Total Reported Losses
($ million)
4,773.40 2,549.16 –46.6%
3.3 Commercial and syndicated frauds have a considerable impact upon
the society and these are sub-categorised as Letter of Credit Fraud, Street
Deception, Pyramid Scheme Fraud, Modelling Agency Fraud, Advance Fee
Fraud (or West African “4-1-9” Fraud) and Bankruptcy-related Fraud.
Letter of Credit Fraud
3.4 In 2009, 3 Letter of Credit Fraud cases were reported, compared
with 7 cases in 2008. Relevant figures are as follows –
2008 2009 % Change
No. of Reported Cases 7 3 –57.1%
Total Reported Losses
($ million)
71.40 23.20 –67.5%
3.5 The reported loss in 2009 decreased to $23.20 million. The number
of Letter of Credit Fraud cases and the amount of reported losses vary from year
to year. Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB) will continue to monitor the trend for
this type of fraud.
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