by CARMEL HAYNES

BANKS IN BARBADOS are sending the wrong message when they fail to prosecute employees who steal money from them, no matter how small.

Fraud expert Gordon Moore told the MIDWEEK NATION yesterday that banks which decided not to prosecute employees who stole money for fear of losing public confidence in their security measures, were making a "mistake".

Dishonest staff

Moore, president of Sepia Associates in Pennsylvania, United States, said those given the opportunity to commit fraud would continue to do so if they felt they were not going to be sent to jail.

"Accept that there will be loss, there's always fraud and loss, there's always dishonest employees. It's not just happening with one bank, it's happening with all banks, so if they all start to prosecute, I think that the environment would be different," he said.

However, Moore stressed he was not saying that banks should not attempt to get their money back from the guilty employees.

"They should pay back, in addition to prosecution – I'm not saying one or the other. I'm saying that you prosecute them and as part of settlement, the amount of jail time depends on the amount of restitution. If there is no restitution and there's no prosecution, then there's no disincentive."

He made the remarks during the morning break of an all-day fraud prevention and detection seminar held by his company at Grand Barbados Resort in Aquatic Gap, St Michael.

Cheque verification

In his presentation to participants from the banking, credit union and accounting sectors, Moore also suggested local banks implement the "positive pay" cheque verification system currently in use in the United States and other developed countries.

He explained that, under this system, business people could notify banks of the amount a particular cheque was made out for and the cheque's serial number, and the bank would then cross-check this against the cheque when it was received to ensure that the amount on the cheque was not altered before cashing.