US Congress begins probe of $8bn COVID-19 relief money allegedly stolen by Nigerians, Russians, Chinese

A member of U.S. Congress, Brad Wenstrup, has sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday inquiring what the Department of Justice is doing to investigate the billions of dollars in COVID-19 relief funds stolen by foreign nationals, as per reporting by Washington Examiner.

“The Department stated that it had taken criminal and civil enforcement actions in matters alleging over $8 billion in pandemic relief fraud, but it is unclear if this is limited to domestic fraud,” wrote Wenstrup, chairman of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. “It is highly concerning that possibly billions of taxpayer dollars intended to help Americans suffering the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were stolen by organized criminal rings in foreign countries.”

A February 2023 report from the Government Accountability Office approximates that the federal government spent a total of $4.6 trillion on aid programs in response to the economic fallout from the pandemic. The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, however, calculated that $5.2 trillion was distributed by both the Trump and Biden administrations for COVID-19 relief.

Of these funds, an estimated $280 billion was stolen from the intended recipients, at least half of which went to criminal actors in Russia, China, and Nigeria, according to Wenstrup.

Wenstrup asked Garland for all documents and communications within the DOJ relating to efforts to identify fraud in COVID-19 relief programs by international actors, including the total number of open and closed investigations as well as the total dollar amount for each case.

Wenstrup also requested information on tactics used by overseas actors to “perpetuate these crimes and imperil American citizens personal protected information.”

The subcommittee is also requesting a DOJ briefing by Sept. 12. ( With reporting from Washington Examiner)