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The examination of financial aid to business during the pandemic that the previous government in the Balearics initiated last spring has revealed that some companies duplicated their requests.

It is this double billing that led to the current government initiating demands for the repayment of aid. It is understood that some businesses have already refunded the aid in full for fear of incurring criminal liability if it is concluded that they were not entitled to the aid.

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The government distributed 855 million euros of aid that was allocated to the Balearics by the Spanish government. Among rules that were established for receiving this aid was one that didn't allow the invoices for aid to be raised by companies in the same group. Another was that companies could not then also issue dividends in respect of the relevant financial year. Some did.

There is the possibility that companies could be charged with fraud. The government plans to hold a meeting to review criteria, and it will ultimately be up to the government's accounts board to assess the legality of the grants and pass its findings to the audit tribunal.