rbb – Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg
Berlin (ots)
Since March 2020, the criminal investigation authorities have initiated more than 30,000 proceedings nationwide on suspicion of fraud in connection with state corona aid and the billing of corona tests. The total amount of fraudulently obtained funds is at least half a billion euros, according to a nationwide survey by the rbb24 editorial team researching the state criminal investigation offices.
The extent of the actual damage has not yet been statistically recorded. The investigations repeatedly led to confiscations and property confiscations. Data is also not available from all federal states, since there is no nationwide uniform recording. The State Criminal Police Offices in Hamburg, Hesse, Bavaria and Saarland were unable to provide any information on the extent of the damage.
Most investigations were initiated in Berlin. According to the State Criminal Police Office (LKA), there have been more than 13,000 cases of fraud in connection with the various economic aids and over 500 cases of billing fraud with corona tests. The Berlin investigators assume potential damage of at least 243 million euros. North Rhine-Westphalia came second in the survey. Almost 5,400 procedures were initiated here for fraud with Corona aid and with a damage volume of more than 79 million euros. Baden-Württemberg stated that damage in the mid double-digit million range was known to the police.
In Berlin, entrepreneurs and the self-employed were able to apply for aid quickly and easily at the beginning of the corona pandemic. It was made very easy for fraudsters to get the grants, explained the head of the department for white-collar crime at the LKA Berlin, Jochen Sindberg, in an interview with rbb24Recherche. “Simple control mechanisms were missing for a long time and so large sums of damage were incurred within a few weeks,” says Sindberg. In his view, many cases of fraud could have been avoided if the applicant’s identity and tax number had been checked in good time.
In total, the Investitionsbank Berlin paid out more than 7 billion euros to 430,000 applicants in 36 different aid programs. Nationwide, the federal and state governments have supported affected companies with over 76 billion euros, as the Federal Ministry of Economics informed in writing in response to a request from rbb24 research. The ministry was unable to provide valid information about the number of cases of fraud and the extent of the damage caused by the acts. The final reports from the federal states on Corona economic aid do not have to be available until the end of 2025, the press office announced. Before that, no statements about fraud with Corona aid funds are to be expected.
Press contact:
Radio Berlin-Brandenburg
rbb24 Search
Masurenallee 8 – 14
14057 Berlin
Tel.: (030) 97 99 3-30350
Fax: (030) 97 99 3-30309
Mail: [email protected]
Original content from: rbb – Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, transmitted by news aktuell
