WASHINGTON: A federal watchdog stated on Tuesday that over $200 billion from the US government’s COVID-19 relief programmes were likely stolen, adding that the US Small Business Administration (SBA) had compromised its standards in a rush to transfer the cash.

According to a report released Tuesday by the SBA’s inspector general, at least 17% of all monies associated to the government’s coronavirus Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Programme (PPP) schemes were given to possibly fraudulent actors.

Read more : Malala Yousafzai debuts at the Oscars in silver sequin hooded gown.

During the pandemic, the SBA distributed around $1.2 trillion in EIDL and PPP monies.

The SBA contested the watchdog’s more than $200 billion number, claiming that the inspector general’s approach had considerably exaggerated fraud.

The agency’s analysts estimated the potential fraud at $36 billion, with over 86% of that anticipated theft occurring in 2020, under the administration of former President Donald Trump. Joe Biden became President in January 2021.

The inspector general’s fraud estimate for the EIDL

The United States is investigating many fraud instances involving US government assistance programmes.

In September 2022, the inspector general of the US Labour Department stated programme was more than $136 billion, whereas the PPP fraud estimate was $64 billion.that during the coronavirus pandemic, fraudsters likely stole $45.6 billion from the US unemployment insurance programme by employing techniques such as exploiting deceased individuals’ Social Security numbers.

In September, federal prosecutors charged hundreds of people with diverting $250 million from a government charity programme designed to feed needy children during the pandemic.

Earlier this year, a separate watchdog investigation stated that the US government most certainly awarded around $5.4 billion in COVID-19 funding to people with questionable Social Security numbers.