More than $280 billion in U.S. Covid-19 relief went to criminals in and out of the United States, according to an Associated Press analysis.
So massive is the sum, it dwarfs the $75 billion in assistance to Ukraine, including all humanitarian, financial, and military support since early 2022.
Now, the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, is asking the U.S. Department of Justice what steps are being taken to recover the fraudulently obtained Covid funds.
On Tuesday, Committee Chairman Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) sent a letter (pdf) to Attorney General Merrick Garland, asking that he and the DOJ provide a full account of all current and past investigations into the misallocation of U.S. taxpayer funds for Covid relief.
Wenstrup further cited a 2021 NBC News report, claiming much of the COVID relief that was lost to fraud went to Russian, Chinese and Nigerian criminal organizations. Because the Putin regime is closely allied with Russian mobs, some of the money could now be funding the war against Ukraine.
“Some of these fraudulent actors were based outside the United States and may involve international criminal organizations. Estimates imply that at least half of all stolen COVID-19 relief funds went to Russian, Chinese, and Nigerian criminals,” he wrote.
But the $280 billion is just the tip of the iceberg. Under pressure from Republicans, the U.S. government has been working to account for more than $4 trillion in COVID-19 relief spending. In addition to the lost $280 billion, the AP reports another $123 billion was simply wasted or misspent.
The DOJ announced in March it had recovered just $8 billion worth of funding.
“It is highly concerning that possibly billions of taxpayer dollars intended to help Americans suffering the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were stolen by organized criminal rings in foreign countries,” the Republican lawmaker wrote. “Therefore, we write today to better understand the full scope of this problem and what actions the Department has taken to investigate international COVID-19 relief program fraud and hold these foreign actors accountable.”
Mr. Wenstrup requested the DOJ provide a country-by-country account of all current and closed COVID-19 fraud cases and dollar value estimates of COVID-19 relief spending they believe went missing in these fraud cases.
–Wire services