The cash was confiscated according to federal rules which state that asylum seekers are allowed to keep an allowance of only 200 euros ($228) per person when they enter Germany and claim asylum.
In addition, reported Bild, states have their own rules about the amount of money that asylum seekers area allowed to retain, based on Germany's Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act. The final amount of cash taken by the authorities is yet to be calculated, since the federal authorities have not received all the necessary reports from state authorities on the costs of asylum.
For administrative ease the authorities prefer to confiscate cash rather than valuables, and the money is used to pay for so-called "Security Benefits," to cover the expenses of their stay in Germany and the potential cost of deportation.
"Sicherheitsleistung": Bundespolizei nimmt Flüchtlingen 350.000 Euro Bargeld ab https://t.co/mlJJgtZBpF pic.twitter.com/d5bElg997q
— DIE WELT (@welt) 7 апреля 2016 г.
'"Security benefits": The federal police takes 350,000 euros cash from asylum seekers.'
Ulla Jelpka, the Left Party's spokeswoman for interior affairs, called the practice of taking money from refugees to pay for their expenses "extremely problematic," Die Welt reported.
The practice is "in effect confiscation on a large scale" that could include other valuables such as money or telecommunications equipment being taken, and severely limits the independence of refugees, said Jelpka.
