Executive summary
The largest energy company in the Philippines faced a persistent and costly insider theft problem draining millions in petroleum product losses each year. Unable to identify the culprits through existing vetting methods, and hampered by the remote location of the affected facility, they turned to Clearspeed to screen employees at scale. Within 48 hours of completing questionnaires, the theft ring was broken after five years in operation, with a confession secured and accomplices identified.
Key Outcomes
Fuel-related fraud is a widespread problem across the Philippines. According to the Philippines Daily Inquirer, the country loses as much as $750 million annually in tax revenue due to fuel supply chain issues including smuggling, adulteration, dilution, and theft. For this energy company, the problem was closer to home — an insider theft ring was siphoning large quantities of petroleum products directly from one of its own facilities, costing the company an estimated $8 million over five years.
Identifying the culprit or culprits proved extremely difficult. The suspected facility was in a remote location, and existing fraud detection and vetting tools were not equipped to surface insider threats at that scale or in that environment. The company needed a solution that could operate reliably and affordably in the field, provide risk intelligence unavailable through traditional methods, and lower the risk of retaining personnel involved in the theft.
The company selected Clearspeed to screen employees at the suspected facility. The Clearspeed team worked with a Tagalog linguist to develop culturally appropriate questions. Questionnaires were administered over two days, with all employees at the facility screened and results delivered within 24 hours of the final questionnaire, with full project analysis available within 48 hours.
Employees assessed as low or average risk were cleared quickly. Those flagged as high risk were surfaced for targeted follow-up, allowing the company to focus its investigative resources precisely where they were needed most.
Results
Of the employees screened, more than half were identified as high risk. Two employees were flagged for potential countermeasures, suggesting attempts to thwart the system. When confronted with their questionnaire results, one high-risk employee, the ring leader, confessed and named two additional accomplices. With a confession secured, the company was able to prosecute the ring leader, and nine other high-risk employees were relieved of duty with active investigations pending.
A theft ring that had operated undetected for five years and cost the company an estimated $8 million was dismantled in less than 48 hours. Following the resolution of the case, the energy company became an ongoing Clearspeed customer for continued insider threat screenings across related companies and subsidiaries.
