A criminal organization is foreign to the origin of the massive fraud on the part-time unemployment?

In total, more than 1.7 million euros have been unduly paid by the Agency of services and payments, in charge of the compensation of the activity partial.

The extension of the recourse to partial unemployment during the containment has sparked a new target : the public prosecutor of Paris announced this Friday to investigate scams "massive" involving international financial flows, which would have cost at least 1.7 million euros of damage to public finances.

How to fraud-has she been found ?

It is the discovery of "similarities between many of the applications for authorisation of activity partial filed by companies" which has aroused the suspicions and pushed initially flooring of Toulouse and Limoges, to investigate "scams organised to the benefits paid to the employees in a situation of partial unemployment" and "money-laundering by organized group" of these scams, said Friday the prosecutor of Paris in a press release.

But in view of the magnitude of the fraud and international ramifications revealed by the initial investigation, the prosecutor seized on Monday of these folders. It has done under its national competence in the field of combating the organized crime of very great complexity (the so-called Junalco), introduced by the law of reform for the justice of 23 march, 2019.

Your support is essential. Subscribe for $ 1 support Us

READ ALSO >> part-time Unemployment classical or long-term : what has changed and what will change

According to a source close to the dossier, investigators suspect a "criminal organization have mounted a fraud from abroad", taking advantage of the fact that the French government has expanded, from the containment and to compensate for the shutdown of activity resulting, the possibility of resorting to the partial unemployment.

"numerous investigations, including the international financial flows from these scams, remains to be performed," says the prosecutor, observing that they would be "complex" and required "strong international cooperation".

What is the extent of damage ?

during The initial investigation, investigators discovered that "fraudulent claims for payment of compensation is made by electronic filing by usurping the name and the id number SIRET existing businesses that were not asking to receive the aid for the activity part," according to the public prosecutor.

"More of 1740 fraudulent operations throughout the national territory, in the name of 1069 different companies asking for payment of funds on more than 170 different bank accounts", have already been identified. Nothing in Occitania, more than 160 companies that are the victims, and more than 110 bank accounts fraudulent and intended to receive compensation, as well as 18 transfers fraudulent for about 868 000 euros, have been identified.

In total, at the national level, more than 1.7 million euros have been unduly paid by the Agency for Services and Payment (ASP), in charge of managing for the account of the Ministry of Employment and the compensation of the activity partial. However, the damage could have been much higher: according to the public prosecutor, "the payment of 6 million euros has been suspended since the discovery of the offences". Thirteen of the sixteen regional directorates of companies, competition, consumption, labour and employment (DIRECCTE) of the national territory have been confronted to such scams.

What are the results for the part-time unemployment during the confinement ?

According to the ministry of Labour, 7.2 million French were unemployed in part one or more days per week in march, to 8.7 million in April and $ 7.8 million in may.

at the End of June, the former minister of Labour Muriel Pénicaud had indicated to the magazine Challenges that the 3000 the first checks on the applications for partial unemployment had led to "850 suspicions of fraud," and four procedures for "scam".

Read our complete file

Coronavirus : companies adapt in the face of the crisis

An economic recovery, green is compatible with growth objectives? The Express audio offered : French trade to the edge of the void The Court of auditors to tackle severely the sector EPR and the project of Flamanville

Some involve fraud on a smaller scale: Ms. Pénicaud has cited the example of a business leader of the Hauts-de-France who has created five companies for 67 employees, but no one has said or has not paid social security contributions.