FRAUD and misdemeanours committed by business travellers cost
UK companies £250 million a year according to a new study.
The research, carried out by on-line business travel guide
CityOrganiser.com, found one in 25 business travellers make a fraudulent
expenses claim for overseas travel while one in every 50 admitted taking a
romantic companion away on their company’s money.
Male travellers were twice as likely to make a fraudulent
expenses claim while none of the women questioned had ever invited a companion
on a trip.
It also found 3% of business travellers had lost a laptop
computer overseas, one in 25 had lost a company-owned mobile phone, the same
number had lost a briefcase, 2% had lost a personal organiser and 1% confessed
to losing confidential company documents.
CityOrganiser estimated lost property costs and an average fraudulent
expenses claim of £50 works out at £250 million on eight million business trips
a year.
The survey was carried out among 450 businessmen and women
who frequently travel overseas for their job.