German police mount raids in COVID-19 aid fraud probe

BERLIN (AP) — Police have raided homes and offices in northern and western Germany as part of an investigation of five men accused of fraudulently applying for pandemic-linked aid to the tune of 26 million euros ($28 million). The German government drew up a series of aid packages to help businesses withstand the impact of lockdowns and other restrictions at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. A police statement Tuesday said that the suspects in this investigation — men aged 26 to 62 — are suspected of making at least 363 aid applications under false pretenses “for their own purposes and for companies that commissioned them.”