The Netherlands’ Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) recently searched a house in The Hague as part of a criminal investigation. It is suspected that the residents of the property have applied as intermediaries for dozens of companies, leading to wrongful payment of COVID-19-related Fixed Cost Allowance (TVL). Currently, the residents are believed to be abroad.
TVL is for entrepreneurs who have lost turnover due to COVID-19 and are thus unable to pay their fixed costs. Authorities believe that the suspected intermediaries fraudulently reported higher than actual turnovers to validate their TVL applications. Many company owners may then have had to give away part of the fraudulently received TVL to the suspected intermediaries.
FIOD received information from banks about suspicious transactions in the accounts of the owners of the companies in question. The intermediaries and entrepreneurs in this investigation are suspected of forgery and fraud and will be prosecuted.
Source: FIOD, Netherlands