A big jump in the value of frauds in New Zealand in the second half of 2009 is being put down to a number of large cases and that fraud has been prompted by, or uncovered during, the global economic crisis.

The total amount defrauded was $76 million in the six months to December 2009 in the KPMG Fraud Barometer report -- taking the annual total to $100m, compared with $70m in 2008.

For a second consecutive period, the report found that those in management tend to be more likely to commit fraud, and they generally steal far higher amounts due to their access to information, authorisation capabilities and ability to understand and override internal controls.

The average fraud for a senior manager is in excess of $1m compared to an average of $500,000 for lower level employees.

"What is being disclosed now are primarily long term pre-existing frauds. We're still yet to see the full impact of the current economic situation," said KPMG forensics partner, Mark Leishman.

The top five types of frauds based on number for the second half of 2009 were -- loans, tax evasion, accounting fraud, deception, and investor money stolen.

While New Zealand continues to experience a high number of tax related frauds, perpetrators tend not to succeed in defrauding as much money per fraud incident as other types of fraud. The total value of tax evasion for the period was $6m compared to $34m for loans.

"We've noticed a considerable increase in the number of loan frauds during 2009, suggesting that a great proportion of bank customers are feeling the pressure of the economic downturn," said Mr Leishman.

Fraudulent activity must exceed $100,000, and the individuals must at least have been charged for the case to be included in the barometer.