The government will be presenting a bill in the fall to combat fraud in public assistance programs, according to Thomas Cazenave, Minister Delegate for Public Accounts, in an interview with Les Echos. A year after the presentation of Gabriel Attal’s “anti-fraud” plan, his successor praises its results but mentions two areas that still need to be addressed: fraud in public assistance programs and the low rate of effective recovery, meaning the money actually recovered by the state after embezzlement. Thomas Cazenave mentioned that the MaPrimeRenov’ program, which provides assistance for energy renovations, has been under scrutiny by Bercy, with reports of approximately 400 million euros in fraudulent claims out of a budget of 2 to 3 billion euros annually. The Ministry also plans to investigate the personal training account (CPF), apprenticeship aids, and energy saving certificates, which amount to around 100 million euros of public funds.
Measures to be announced this fall may include easier and temporary suspension of aid payments after a report from Tracfin, the intelligence service of the Ministry of the Economy. Tighter controls related to the possession of crypto assets, such as bitcoin, could also be part of the plan. The Minister mentioned that while the Bank of Central Europe estimates that 5 million French people use crypto assets, only 150,000 declarations have been received by the General Directorate of Public Finance. The objective is also to increase the recovery rate of funds lost to fraud, with the inclusion of stricter procedures for universal transmissions of assets in the upcoming bill. This mechanism allows for the dissolution of a company without liquidation, enabling companies that have not paid their dues to disappear before being audited.
Thomas Cazenave has proposed legalizing the seizure of assets of individuals held in custody to ensure that fixed penalties, such as those imposed on drug traffickers, are actually paid. The Minister’s goal is to improve the effectiveness of the anti-fraud measures and increase the amount of recovered funds for the government. The Ministry of Public Accounts continues to work on identifying and addressing areas of vulnerability in public assistance programs and other government initiatives. The fight against fraud is a priority for the government, and further measures are being planned to strengthen control and enforcement mechanisms to prevent and address fraudulent activities. The upcoming legislative proposal in the fall is expected to provide more tools and resources for combating fraud and improving the financial integrity of public programs.
