Sutaj Estok Denies Allegations of Benefit Fraud by Refugees from Ukraine

Bratislava, 9 January (TASR) - In a video posted on social media on Friday, Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) denied allegations of mass abuse of the system and state allowances by refugees from Ukraine. The minister was responding to the issue of temporary refuge for people from Ukraine and the hoax about how they receive benefits in Slovakia even though they don't live there. "The internet has been flooded with claims of mass abuse of the system and money being siphoned off from the state. These claims are spreading rapidly, but they aren't true; they are based on manipulation of the facts. And I want to make this very clear: nothing of the sort is happening," emphasised Sutaj Estok. The interior minister pointed out that so-called temporary refuge is not asylum, but rather temporary protection under European Union law introduced due to the exceptional situation. According to him, persons with this status can leave Slovakia and return, as this is legal. At the same time, however, if such persons are not actually residing in Slovakia, they are not entitled to any benefits or allowances from the state. According to the minister, following the tightening of the rules, approximately 9,000 people who fled the war conflict currently receive housing allowances. He stated that most of them pay for their housing from their own resources and that a significant part of the aid is financed via EU funds, not from the state budget. "I'd like to point out that we've made this possible mainly for mothers with children and people with severe health disabilities," he added. Sutaj Estok also drew attention to the fact that approximately 70,000 people from Ukraine currently work and pay taxes in Slovakia. "They contribute more to the system than they draw from it, and in recent years alone they've brought hundreds of millions of euros into public finances," he stated. am