Raiffeisen Leasing CEO: Fraud has increased

The volume of fraud on the leasing market has risen significantly this year, particularly on the equipment leasing segment, says Mihaela Mateescu, CEO of Raiffeisen Leasing, one of the top 10 companies in its sector. “This rise in fraud started at the end of last year and continued heavily into this year. Almost all leasing companies have been targeted. There are several types of frauds: shell companies created for the specific purpose of securing funding, which then disappear, financed goods that don’t actually exist. This year we have seen very many cases of fraud on the market, as opposed to the previous years,” says Mateescu. The Financial Companies Association in Romania (ALB), the professional organisation of non-bank financial institutions, which includes leasing companies, has recently announced it will sign a protocol with the Police in order to combat fraud.