According to a report by "Welt am Sonntag," the German federal government believes that social benefit fraud occurs significantly more often than has previously been known. "A high number of unrecorded cases must be assumed," a spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs told the newspaper.
"Benefit abuse often goes undetected because the various authorities involved are not, or not sufficiently, networked with one another," the spokeswoman reportedly continued.
According to the report, jobcenters initiated 133,640 new proceedings for benefit abuse last year. In around 110,000 of these cases, the suspicion was confirmed, or a criminal complaint was filed on the basis of a reasonable suspicion. The recorded cases also included administrative offenses. No figures on the amount of financial damage were available. Jobcenters under purely municipal responsibility were not included in the figures.
To crack down more forcefully on social benefit fraud, the federal government is planning, among other things, improved data exchange between the authorities involved. Access to social benefits for EU citizens is also to be regulated more strictly.
Under current law, foreigners can draw basic income support (Grundsicherungsgeld) after five years of habitual residence in Germany even if they cannot prove a right of residence, the spokeswoman said. It is now planned that foreigners will be required to prove a right of residence in German territory that existed during the period in which they received benefits. This legal measure, she said, would also make the abusive claiming of social benefits more difficult.
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