Social security | Minister of the Interior Rantanen proposes “Kela detectives” to uncover abusers of subsidies

Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen (ps) proposes “Kela detectives” to uncover abuses of social benefits, which would investigate cases of abuse of Kela benefits. Be the first to tell about it Evening newspaper.

Rantanen shared his suggestions on the X service after reading the news in which Kela says that the number of suspected abuses of social benefits remained low between 2018 and 2023.

In his interview with IL, Rantanen wonders how abuses can be solved just by looking at the income register system. According to Kela, last year suspicions of abuse were directed at just under half of all benefits paid to proms.

“The problem was there [tulorekisteristä] looking at it from the outside, it's quite small: around a million. Of course, that's a good thing, but it might not be the whole truth,” Rantanen tells IL.

Rantanen suggests in the interview that the detectives could do “revealing” activities. By this he means that Kela detectives could find out more precisely how the granted subsidies are actually used.

He suggests that the detectives could, for example, have the opportunity to check more closely than at present which persons live in a home for which housing allowance has been granted. The detective could also, for example, investigate cases of abuse in which the person who spends his time abroad, as a rule, withdraws subsidies from Finland.

Iltalehti says that Rantanen made a measure initiative on the matter in the last election period in 2020. Rantanen suggests that Kela detectives work on the same principle as insurance detectives of private insurance companies.

Incomes Register according to Kela, has reduced suspicions of abuse of unemployment insurance and housing allowance. Last year, most suspicions of abuse were directed at basic income support, followed by unemployment insurance and general housing support.