There were 537 “home visits” to unemployed people between September 2015 and June this year since the measure was permitting it was introduced.
This is according to figures provided by Philippe De Backer (Open Vld), the State Secretary for Fraud, which L’Echo and De Tijd quoted on Saturday.
The inspectors found 161 cases of fraud. There were 292 home visits in Flanders, 231 in Wallonia, but just 14 in Brussels. Onem said 4 or 5 people refused to respond to inspectors.
The measure has been controversial since it was brought in. It targets unemployed people suspected of lying about their family or household set-up so they can receive higher allocations. They risk being spontaneously inspected by Onem representatives.
