Police and public prosecutors searched the homes and business premises of twelve suspects on Thursday on suspicion of gang-based subsidy fraud.
At the center of the investigation is a tax consultancy firm in Wetterau, under whose name false applications for Corona bridging aid were made for several restaurateurs, as the Frankfurt Public Prosecutor announced.
Accordingly, EUR 320,000 was incorrectly paid out for applications totaling EUR 750,000.
The payments were stopped after checks by the Gießen regional council and the tax offices.
During the raid, 24 buildings in Hesse, the Franconian Main-Tauber district and in Lübeck were searched.
More than 70 emergency services were involved.
The Frankfurt investigators have two other parallel proceedings involving allegedly fraudulent tax advice from the Gießen and Groß-Gerau districts.
At the current complex, an 86-year-old accountant is suspected of knowingly providing his title to allow three employees at the office to claim the payments.
The applications for bridging aid III and III Plus could only be submitted via so-called “examining third parties” - i.e. tax consultants, lawyers or auditors - in order to avoid misuse.
Among the twelve accused, apart from the 86-year-old, there was no other "professional", said a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office.