12/08/2026
WHY OPPORTUNITY ALONE DOES NOT EXPLAIN FRAUD
Fraud rarely happens simply because someone needs money or discovers a weakness in an organisation. Understanding why one person exploits an opportunity while another person facing similar circumstances does not require Financial Crimes Agents (FCAs) to look beyond the traditional Fraud Triangle.
The Fraud Diamond theory enhances the traditional fraud framework associated with Donald Cressey by considering four critical elements
1. What Drives the Person? (Pressure)
Pressure is the motivation or incentive pushing an individual towards fraudulent behaviour. It may arise from financial difficulties, personal circumstances, lifestyle expectations, debt, addiction, or pressure to achieve organisational targets, or worse to make it quick in life.
However, pressure alone does not make someone a fraudster.
Many people experience serious financial pressures without committing fraud. Then why do others commit fraud?
2. Can I get away with it? (Opportunity)
Opportunity arises where there internal control weaknesses in an organisation, such make fraud possible.
Weak internal controls, inadequate segregation of duties, poor supervision, excessive system access and management override can create an environment in which someone believes:
"Nobody scrutinises my transactions. I can probably get away with it."
Trust is important in every organisation, but trust without verification is not an internal control.
The longer an individual operates without independent review, the greater the opportunity may become for inappropriate activities to remain undetected.
3. The Killer punch (Rationalization)
Perhaps one of the most dangerous stages occurs when an individual begins justifying wrongdoing. When these fraudersters thinking begin to sound like:
a. "I work harder than everyone else."
b. "The CEO earns much more than me, yet I do most of the work."
c. "I am only borrowing the money; I will replace it."
d. "After everything I have done for this organisation, I deserve this."
e. “Why do I earn so little, maybe I am escorting others here.”
These statements repeated long enough, can make unacceptable conduct appear reasonable to the perpetrator.
Fraud becomes particularly dangerous when wrongdoing is no longer viewed as wrongdoing by the person committing it.
4. The missing piece (Capability)
This is the deadliest segment of the Fraud Diamond; capability is the distinguishing addition of the Fraud Diamond.
An opportunity may exist, but does the individual possess the knowledge, position, authority, confidence and psychological ability to exploit it?
A capable perpetrator may understand the organisation's systems sufficiently to identify weaknesses, override controls, manipulate documentation, maintain deception over long periods and operate under the pressure associated with concealing misconduct.
Relationships can also become part of capability. A long serving employee may believe:
a. "They trust me. Even if they discover it, they will forgive me."
This is why profiling high-risk positions and understanding capability is an important fraud-risk control.
For controlling officers, Internal Auditors, Audit Committees and Boards, the capability dimension deserves particular attention.
Individuals with extensive authority, institutional knowledge or privileged system access may have greater capacity to circumvent controls.
The Fraud Diamond therefore helps explain why two individuals exposed to similar pressures and opportunities may behave completely differently. One may walk away, while another may possess the capability and rationalization necessary to design and conceal a fraudulent scheme.
Usually, forgery is the most utilised approach in organisations.
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(c) August 2026
