Since the spring is being worked on in Germany because of the Corona of a pandemic and its economic consequences in the short; in September, 4.24 million people in relation to short-time working money. Parallel Federal and state governments have paid substantial sums of money in Corona-emergency aid. However, the measures were considered from the beginning, with a certain degree of mistrust: the extent to which Criminals will take advantage of the assistance?
A good half a year later, there are first findings. The Federal employment Agency (BA), which pays for the short-time working allowances are, in 2600 cases, evidence of abuse of benefits. Measured at more than 600 000 companies, which were at the peak of the crisis in short-time work are less than one percent, in which there are abnormalities. “Known to a financial loss of approximately 6.3 million Euro,” says a BA spokesman is so far: “The money we claim back.”
Approximately 400 references were discarded as unfounded, 451 of the cases to the main customs office forwarded the BA does not carry out an investigation, but examines at the local level in the individual agencies. 21 specific suspected cases had been handed over to the law enforcement authorities, the rest of the instructions are still being tested. For comparison: During the financial crisis of 2008/2009, 1.44 million people in 60 000 companies related to the peak of short-time working money. At that time there were 1.4 percent of the establishments suspicions, which were passed on to the public Prosecutor and customs.
With the false identities made it difficult to fraudsters the money
With the beginning of the auxiliary measures, scammers found new ways to cause harm to the state. In may, investigators of the Bavarian land criminal police office had arrested a 30-Year fixed: He had asked, with false identities, within a week, 23 times a Corona-emergency aid alone, in the city of Munich and the governments of Swabia and upper Bavaria. The Accused sitting in prison, hoping to find a sum of more than one Million euros, which has not been paid in full. Last Wednesday by the Berlin police in the district of Kreuzberg was looking for a mosque, and several companies on suspicion of Corona subsidy fraud in the amount of 70 000 Euro.
How many acts get to the prosecutors, it is difficult to assess. A POI request from state prosecutors ‘ offices in several large cities showed that the Numbers vary on a regional basis. The public Prosecutor’s office Munich I, determined in 145 cases, in Stuttgart, 75 cases are pending, in Düsseldorf, Germany 447 practices. All those cases dealt with the police and not to the Prosecutor have been disclosed but still. So a hundred procedures in the public Prosecutor’s office in Hamburg has so far been recorded, but the police have announced that around 1000 procedures.
The public Prosecutor’s office Hanover, as determined previously based on 460 cases. Nearly a third is completed, because the indictment or criminal order was issued. In many of the for the time being, pending cases, but the accused were living without fixed home, and therefore, a Bolo put out to tender, said a spokesman for the authority.
The fits to the modus Operandi of The majority of the accused persons deceived that they have a commercial. Similarly, they frequently have higher ongoing costs than is actually present.
Notes on the alleged offenders come from development banks and the local Bodies, the grant funds and pay off. In the context of the money laundering act, the banks of the Suspect but the investigators. You will inevitably, if aid to micro-entrepreneurs or Solo-enter the self-employed – and the accounts of people who are listed as recipients of social assistance or workers.