Düsseldorf (dpa/lnw) – CDU, Greens and FDP in the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament want to expand state aid for victims of the Bottrop pharmacist scandal and at the same time extend the application period by three months to the end of March 2023. The three parliamentary groups decided on a corresponding application in their meetings on Tuesday, as they jointly announced. It is to be negotiated in plenary next week. So far, the state parliament has provided ten million euros for state aid.
The SPD called the application by the CDU, Greens and FDP insufficient. You are planning your own application, said an SPD parliamentary group spokesman. However, the basic goal is also to increase the number of people who are entitled to apply.
In this case, a pharmacist had underdosed expensive active ingredients for cancer drugs for years, thereby making illegal profits in the millions. The pharmacist was sentenced to twelve years in prison and a lifelong ban from his profession by the Essen Regional Court in 2018 for fraud and violation of the Medicines Act.
The payments to victims and survivors have so far been limited to the approximately 2,000 victims named in the Essen judgment. In addition, according to various sources, there are around 1,500 to 1,700 other victims. It is expected that EUR 5,000 will be paid out for each injured party.
