Greece: 1 in 6 disability claims fake

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Health Ministry officials say nearly one-in-six disability allowances will be canceled at the end of the month after discovering thousands of payments were based on false claims — including of drivers registered as being legally blind and bogus cases of leprosy.

Deputy Health Minister Markos Bolaris said Tuesday that some 36,000 allowances will be stopped, saving the government €110 million ($145 million) per year in the crisis-hit country. The action was taken on the results, announced Monday, of a compulsory survey for beneficiaries.

Bolaris said the government expected to save a further €120 million ($158 million) in annual payments following a more detailed befenit-fraud inquiry.