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Magdeburg (dpa / sa) - When examining paid out Corona emergency aid from the spring, the state-owned investment bank of Saxony-Anhalt discovered further suspected cases of fraud.
By mid-November, the suspicion that the funds were wrongly requested was confirmed 711 times, as a spokesman for the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in Magdeburg on Monday.
That was almost 50 more cases than in September.
The potential damage amount increased in the same period by almost 500,000 euros to 3.3 million euros.
The “Magdeburger Volksstimme” (Monday) reported on it beforehand.
According to the information, the investment bank has so far examined a total of 1,100 conspicuous aid requests;
in every fourth case the suspicion of fraud was quickly dispelled.
The suspicion was confirmed in the remaining more than 700 applications, and the public prosecutor's office is investigating 88 cases.
From the point of view of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Corona aid has nevertheless proven itself.
"Measured against the spectacular number of 37,000 approved applications, the number of cases of fraud in Saxony-Anhalt is within an acceptable range," said the spokesman.
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At the beginning of the corona pandemic, self-employed people, freelancers, farmers and companies with up to 50 employees could apply for help from the federal and state governments in order to cushion the negative consequences of the state-ordered closings and erratic orders.
Applicants could claim their running costs for March, April and May.
In return, there was up to 25,000 euros that did not have to be repaid.
Saxony-Anhalt paid out a total of 287 million euros, most of which was federal aid.
Report of the Magdeburg Volksstimme