The Bulgarian fraud, fraud involving Dutch benefits by criminals in Bulgaria, became a national scandal around 2013. In response, the Tax and Customs Administration opened a fraud hunt, which sowed the seeds for what eventually came to be called the allowance affair.
Van Huffelen explains the compensation in a letter to the House, after the website had written to the Correspondent about those involved in the Bulgarian fraud who have received compensation. According to the site, “several fire letters that warn of gross overcompensation” are circulating within the tax authorities.
Nearly 1,700 people are involved in two investigations into the Bulgarian fraud, Van Huffelen reports. So far, 83 people from this group have come forward. Fourteen people therefore received compensation from them. The cabinet has always said it will not reclaim the 30,000 euros. It is expected that these people will no longer receive additional support, for example from municipalities, if it turns out that the compensation is unjustified.
It is expected that this mainly concerns people who received the ‘Intent/Gross Debt’ stamp in their file. They were accused of cheating or having been negligent in applying for benefits and sending documents to the tax authorities. People who received this qualification and had to repay at least 1500 euros in allowances in one year were given allowances. The first test does not look at whether the accusation was “justified with current knowledge.”
Sixteen people have yet to receive an initial assessment. After applying for compensation, 53 people initially found that they were not entitled to this. After such a first test, a further assessment will follow, which of 28 of these 53 people has almost been completed, “because they have not applied for childcare allowance or have no children”, the minister reported. “There are eight people with a criminal conviction or misdemeanor fine who are being assessed in full at an accelerated pace.”
fraud
Van Huffelen warned at the beginning of this year that the allowance compensation could also end up with fraudsters. The cabinet partly takes this for granted with schemes that are quickly and broadly set up, including the corona support package. The State Secretary does take “possible fraud with reparations very seriously,” she told the House. She’s going to see what she can do about this.