A company that carried out coronavirus tests as part of the “test for entry” programme during the Covid pandemic has been ordered to pay back €4 million it received for staff who were not on duty.

The Stichting Open Nederland, a foundation set up to coordinate coronavirus testing so that people could attend festivals and shows, commissioned different companies across the country to provide tests. However, several of these companies are now known to have submitted fraudulent or incorrect invoices.

Platalea, which operated testing services in Brabant, Gelderland, and Limburg, has been ordered to repay the money after claiming for personnel who were never utilised.

Platalea claimed for the maximum number of personnel between May and October 2021 and submitted invoices totalling €19.7 million. The company stated that it needed the maximum number of testers to ensure it could perform its work safely and efficiently.

However, judges in Amsterdam ruled that the company could only charge for the actual number of workers, following spot checks that revealed only three out of eight testers were present on some occasions.

Stichting Open Nederland received €356 million from the government to run the “test for entry” scheme, and this is the first of several court cases concerning the invoices submitted by testing companies. According to the NRC, four more cases are set to come before the courts.