41 Karsten Loiborg Head of 5th Division Christian Ougaard Special Legal Adviser, General Division In 2012 and 2013, the combating of social benefit fraud has received a good deal of media and authority attention, and for good reasons: it is estimated that the social benefits paid to people who are not entitled to them amount to DKK 5-12 billion per year. The figure is much debated, but the amount is certainly significant. It is therefore natural that the authorities, especially the local authorities and the institution responsible for the disbursement of a number of social benefits, make an effort to discontinue unwarranted payments. In fact, the authorities are under an obligation to discontinue unwarranted social benefit payments and to demand repayment if the respective conditions are met. It is a problem if citizens are paid social benefits to which they are not entitled. However, it is also a problem if citizens are deprived of social benefits to which they are entitled or are asked to repay benefits received when there is no basis for this. How much is required? Over the last year or so, the Parliamentary Ombudsman has investigated several cases involving the combating of social benefit fraud. The cases concerned whether the citizen was still entitled to various benefits and whether benefits must be repaid. The question whether there may also be a basis for sentencing the citizen for fraud is decided by the Prosecution Service and the courts. In April 2012, the Ombudsman published a statement about a woman in the town of Sorø. The payment of various social benefits which she had been receiving had been discontinued and she had been ordered to repay a considerable