Parliamentary survey How fraud policies derailed and destroyed thousands of lives

An ongoing fraud hunt degenerated into the benefits affair, which plunged thousands of people into misery. Where did the government's approach to fraud go wrong, and how did it get this far? The parliamentary survey on Fraud Policy and Services should answer these questions. On Monday, the Committee of Inquiry will present its final report.

The basis for the intensification of the fraud hunt was laid in 2010 by the first Rutte cabinet. The zeitgeist plays an important role in this, as is reflected in various interrogations. There is broad consensus that fraud should not pay off. The then Minister of Social Affairs Henk Kamp is coming up with a new fraud law, which significantly tightens penalties.

He ignores warnings from his officials that fraud is not so bad. Kamp has the feeling that the figures presented to him can never be correct, and that the actual scale of the fraud is much greater.

Even now, he still stands behind what he did. “It is very logical that if people are not allowed to do something but there is no sanction, there is no preventive effect,” he says in the interview.

All or nothing
Part of the fraud approach is that in the event of a small mistake, you have to pay back everything: the so-called “all or nothing” approach. Officials warn: this will cause a massacre. But these warnings are not listened to, or they do not reach the political top. During his interrogation, then Secretary of State Frans Weekers for Finance complains about a culture of massaging.

See also: Years of witch hunts killed thousands of innocent people

Not only is the harshness of the law a problem, because of the need to cut back, the services have also been stripped down, so it is difficult to find a response anywhere if you want to challenge a decision by the tax authorities to recover surcharges.

Lodewijk Asscher, Minister of Social Affairs at the end of 2012, quickly became convinced that the law must be amended. But it's not that easy. The VVD sticks to the law. Asscher says he has “a stomachache” about it, but must defend the law as long as there is no majority in the cabinet to amend it.

Cut back
Another thing is added: the Rutte II cabinet, which takes office in 2012, must cut billions of euros, and the Benefits Department is no exception. The idea is that with firm control, extra money can be brought in to achieve the austerity target.

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The Tax Administration Department must detect 25 million in fraud. Annoying, says the tax authorities. But every effort is being made to reach this amount. “That did go over the applicants' backs,” says Monique van de Bospoort, who was Deputy Director of Benefits at the time.

In order to get the highest possible yield, people who receive a large allowance are mainly singled out for control. “There was a flat reason for that,” says Van de Bospoort. “There are always unjustified requests, so if you check this group, the amount you can raise is higher.” Because all focus is on detecting fraud, appeals remain unanswered.

Tough fraud hunt
This fraud hunt is going to be tough for many families. In the event of a minor error, all surcharges will be recovered immediately. Mohamed El Bali, who runs a childcare agency, experiences heartbreaking scenes. “People broke down in tears, had to go to the food bank. And they were often also blamed by their own family: then something must be wrong. The tax authorities don't do something like that just like that.”

Thousands of people have to repay large amounts of surcharges and are in serious financial trouble. “I was labeled a fraud but I was not explained what I had done wrong,” says Dulce Gonçalves-Tavares. “I'll never forget: pay, pay, pay, repay, repay, repay. But with what?”

Watch: Allowance parent Dulce tells story: “What did I do wrong?”

Victims who go to court will be unsuccessful. For years, the Supreme Administrative Court, the Council of State, has used the “all or nothing” line, which means that a small error in applying for benefits will be recovered all benefits for an entire year.

Idiot
“If someone makes a small mistake, it is of course crazy to destroy someone for it,” Prime Minister Rutte said in his interrogation before the Committee of Inquiry. “A drama that affected tens of thousands of people and lasted thirteen years. I really hate that and I can only sincerely apologize for that.”

Prevent recurrence
“The Committee of Inquiry will undoubtedly come up with a series of recommendations to prevent the recurrence of this tragedy,” says political reporter Roel Schreinemachers. “Partly they are easy to guess. Laws need to be drafted more carefully. The House of Representatives needs to deal with legislative proposals more thoroughly. And once a law is in force, it is necessary to better monitor its effects. In addition, it is also necessary to take a closer look at whether sanctions for non-compliance with rules are proportionate.”

“Probably one of the recommendations is that warnings from officials should better find their way to the top. Because there were signs from the start that the fraud law was working hard, but these noises barely reached the political top. If that had happened, adjustments could have been made earlier, and a lot of misery could have been avoided.”

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