Minister of Asylum and Migration Marjolein Faber has responded strongly to revelations about large-scale fraud involving patient transport for asylum seekers.
The minister calls the situation "unacceptable" and announces that she will take measures. "It cannot be that tax money is wasted on unnecessary taxi rides, while hard-working Dutch people have to turn every euro. I will investigate this thoroughly," says Faber.
From research of the Algemeen Dagblad it turned out that both asylum seekers and taxi drivers abuse the system, resulting in thousands of rides being declared without a valid reason each year. The control of patient transport, which is fully reimbursed by the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA), appears to be inadequate. For example, an asylum seeker ordered €2500 worth of taxis to a hospital where he did not even have an appointment. In addition, taxi drivers claim ghost rides and receive compensation for so-called 'no-shows', without actually driving.
The minister wants clarity soon about the exact extent of the abuse and the financial damage to the taxpayer. "If it turns out that there has been insufficient control for years, that will have consequences," she warns.
stricter rules
Faber is known for her tough stance on asylum and migration and makes no mistake that she is considering drastic measures. “This has to stop, and fast. We cannot allow a system meant for medical care to be used as a free taxi service.”
How exactly the minister intends to tackle the problem is not yet clear. Possible measures include stricter control mechanisms for booking taxis and sanctions for both fraudsters and transport companies that do not comply with the rules. Faber does not rule out that the role of commercial parties such as Asylum Seekers Healthcare (GZA) and transport companies such as Snel Een Taxi and ZCN Vervoer will be re-evaluated.
With the minister's tough tone, a stricter approach seems inevitable. The coming weeks will show whether the cabinet will actually intervene, or whether the fraud with patient transport will continue to proliferate.
The issue is putting further pressure on the COA, after the organization was previously criticized for abuses within the asylum reception. Members of parliament from opposition parties are calling for a parliamentary debate on the failing control system. "This is not just an incident, this is structural failure," says an anonymous source within the House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, it remains unclear how much tax money has been lost in total due to the fraud. The COA and the transport companies involved refuse to provide insight into the exact costs. "That really can't be done," says Faber. "The Dutch taxpayer has the right to complete transparency."