Vast sums of money have gone missing from pandemic stimulus programmes
The counts will continue to grow
IT WAS A criminal’s paradise. In June 2020 a firm in Milan secured a €60,000 ($63,300) government loan to cope with the pandemic-induced downturn. But the business did not exist. The Italian government had in fact sent cash to the ’Ndrangheta Mafia of Calabria. The same month six French citizens swindled €12m in unemployment benefits by claiming funds for employees at 3,600 shell companies. A Texan man filed loan applications for 15 made-up firms and pocketed $24.8m in government support.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Ill-gotten gains”
Finance & economics April 30th 2022
- Are emerging economies on the verge of another “lost decade”?
- China should worry less about its currency
- Slow pain or fast pain? The implications of low investment yields
- Russia cuts off gas to two European countries. Who’s next?
- A divergence in consumer surveys adds to recession worries for America
- Vast sums of money have gone missing from pandemic stimulus programmes
- How would an energy embargo affect Germany’s economy?
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