Germany’s corona aid was fast – but so were the fraudsters

An alley by the cathedral is deserted in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. In the case of North-Rhine Westphalia, the fake websites tricked companies into submitting their data and then used it to file for state aid, with the money diverted to their own bank accounts. The fake pages were displayed prominently on Internet search engines, according to the authorities. — dpa/AP

In Germany, even the criminals are efficient.

At the start of the month, North-Rhine Westphalia, the country’s most populous state, paid out €2.3bil (RM10.89bil) to 225,000 small businesses in a day as part of its coronavirus recovery plan.