Emergency aid for the self-employed and small businesses has also been requested by fraudsters. The Minister for Economic Affairs wants to act hard against this.
Berlin (dpa) - Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier has announced that it will act hard against the misuse of financial aid from Corona.
"A few black sheep endanger the quick payment for many thousands of honest people who now urgently need this help," the CDU politician told the newspapers of the Funke media group.
"The quick payout was and is necessary, but action must be taken consistently and with rigor against fraud and abuse." Abuse occurred above all when applying for the immediate program for solo self-employed and small businesses.
Direct grants had been decided for companies whose business was suffering or was failing due to the corona pandemic. Companies with up to five employees can apply for 9,000 euros, companies with up to ten employees 15,000 euros.
Medium-sized companies with up to 50 employees can get 25,000 euros. In North Rhine-Westphalia, the payment of emergency aid was even temporarily stopped because criminals wanted to tap money.