CEO Fraud - A Fish Rots From The Head, But Only If You Let It

The proverb from which this article takes its title is variously attributed to the English, Turks and Chinese, but its true origins seem to have been lost in antiquity. And yet, as ancient as the wisdom may be, it is still 100% relevant today.
In so many cases of private and public sector fraud and corruption, it’s the company CEO or senior government official at the heart of the scandal. This creates a culture of corruption that is very hard to reverse.
South Africa has seen more than its fair share of CEO-led fraud in recent years, and the names Johann Steynberg, Chris Warriner, Markus Jooste, Matshela Koko, Pepi Silinga, and Stephan Burger, among others, will be familiar to many of us for all the wrong reasons.
There are occasions, however, when high level CEO fraud is not actually committed by a CEO at all.