Belgium Cracks Down on Unemployment Benefit Fraud, Thousands of Cases Detected

The National Employment Office (ONEM) and the police are joining forces to wage a relentless fight against residence fraud and fraud concerning unemployed people who claim to live alone in order to receive higher benefits when in reality they live with one or more other people, reports La Dernière Heure. A collaboration motivated by the results of 20,730 investigations into residence fraud. The ONEM detected 6,061 offenses.

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According to the explanations of Anne-Lise Roty, social inspector at the ONEM, the unemployed must have their main residence in Belgium and actually reside there, in order to be able to benefit from the allowances. "The control is carried out via a certificate of residence sent by the ONEM to the beneficiary who must appear in person to his administration no later than the 8th day following the sending of the document. Failing this, his compensation is suspended until the day before the date on which his certificate of residence was validated," she continues.

Also, she added that "in addition to this procedure, the ONEM inspection service may be led to carry out investigations initiated on the basis, for example, of reports or denunciations or findings made by the airport police and transmitted through the labor auditor’s office." And to specify: "We have for example people who report to us that the neighbor is receiving unemployment benefits while residing abroad for more than half the year. At the airports, the police can also carry out checks and in case of suspicion, the data is transmitted to us."