The most common type of fraud in emerging markets is intellectual property theft, which was suffered by 29% of respondents to the latest Legal Week Intelligence Benchmarker survey, published in association with Kroll. 

The report, 'Fraud and Corruption in Emerging Markets: A Survival Guide', also found that most of companies investing in emerging markets did not tailor their due diligence to the market in which they were investing. 

While 44% of respondents do customise their due diligence on a country-by-country basis to comply with local anti-bribery and corruption legislation, some 33% use a standardised process for all markets globally and 21% use a so-called 'heightened process' for emerging markets.

"A lot of corporates do a 'box ticking' exercise on public records. But in emerging markets, public records can be inherently unreliable and what is in the media can be what people have paid to put there," said Kroll managing director Zoe Newman (pictured, centre). 

In another example of an apparent lack of diligence in emerging markets, a quarter of survey respondents did not even know whether their company had suffered fraud.

As well as keeping cyber security procedures tightly managed within the company, the survey found that businesses needed to pay special attention to their links with external advisers. 

"There has been a dramatic up-tick in attacks on lawyers and accountants because they are seen as the middlemen," said EJ Hilbert, head of cyber security for Kroll in EMEA. 

"You may have great corporate security but have to use local attorneys, accountants and others so they are targeted for the information they hold on you."