“The international aspect of today’s fraud is one of the most challenging aspects facing us,” Superintendent Chan Man-yin, of the Hong Kong Police Commercial Crime Bureau, told a conference on regional fraud management.

“More than 80 percent of our investigations now involve overseas elements,” including suspects, witnesses or companies, he told the conference organized by the Singapore Insurance Institute.

“These figures reflect the internationalization of business and the importance of... cooperation,” said Chan, whose office handles major cases including securities and insurance-related fraud.

He said the number of serious fraud investigations dropped to 62 last year, involving losses of 362.5 million Hong Kong dollars (US$46 million) from 69 cases with losses of 1.5 billion dollars in 2005.

But Chan described international fraud syndicates as “very sophisticated, resourceful and skillful” and urged maximum cooperation as law enforcement agencies work in partnership with the private sector and regulatory bodies to root out the criminals.

“It is unrealistic to expect that white collar crime can be totally eradicated,” he said.

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