First it was just a feeling, now it is statistically proven. In 2022, significantly more people filled up without paying than in previous years. Fuel theft also increased. The background may have been the sharp rise in prices.
Schwerin/Rostock/Anklam (dpa/mv) - Parallel to the price level for fuel, fuel fraud and fuel theft from vehicles in the north-east increased significantly in 2022. This emerges from current statistics from the State Criminal Police Office MV, as a spokesman for the German Press Agency said. Up until December 1811, there were cases of fuel fraud with damage of 137,700 euros. That was 43 percent more cases than in 2021. The damage is twice as high as in the previous year. The investigators suspect that the main reason for this is the rise in petrol and diesel prices after the Russian February attack on Ukraine.
The months of November with damage of 20,000 euros and June with 16,000 euros were the months with the highest losses for MV filling stations. The damage was a third higher in each case than in the comparable months of 2021. Most fuel fraudsters were in the district of Ludwigslust-Parchim (361) and around Rostock (335). The fewest cases of this type were in Western Pomerania-Rügen (117) and Schwerin (65).
According to the LKA, the price level is also noticeable in the case of fuel theft. The damage in this area of crime was 485,000 euros in 2022, 120 percent higher than in 2021. The number of these thefts rose from 190 to 450. Investigators had to set the record in March 2022 with damage of around 100,000 euros. Strongholds are the rural districts of Western Pomerania-Greifswald, Rostock, Western Pomerania-Rügen and Ludwigslust-Parchim.
