Tens of thousands of loans worth billions of dollars may have been subject to fraud, waste and abuse in the $659 billion taxpayer-funded Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) aimed at helping small US businesses survive the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported while quoting a congressional panel.

Over $1 billion went to companies that received multiple loans, in violation of the programme's rules, the House of Representatives' Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis said.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is due to testify before the panel at 1pm (1700 GMT) on Tuesday.