White-collar crime costs firms €2bn a year

WHITE-collar crime, such as fraud and embezzlement, is costing Irish businesses €2 billion a year.

The figure could be much higher, as many companies do not detect the crimes and those that do are reluctant to report it to gardaí.

The startling figures are revealed in the first detailed survey of the effects of crime on Irish companies. It shows the average loss per company in 2004 was €450,000.