Fraud and Business Cycle: Empirical Evidence from Fraudsters and Fraud Managers in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper aims at investigating the link between fraud and business cycle in Nigeria using primary data sourced from questionnaires administered on both fraudsters and fraud managers. This is premised on the ground that Nigeria is in recession and has been recently described as fantastically corrupt. Understanding the link between fraud and economic behaviour would give an in depth understanding of fraud levels in the different phases of the Nigerian economy and would help the fraud management system in Nigeria which is believed to have great consequences on the nation's economy. Our result shows that though there is a significant relationship between fraud and business cycle in Nigeria, the level of fraud committed does not solely depend on either expansion or recession exists in the economy, rather, there is an identified range of fraud that might be increased in adverse economy.