Fraud involving refugee benefits: two foreign nationals deprived the state of 2.8 million crowns
Two men and two women abused the identities of more than 70 Ukrainian women to submit nearly 750 false applications. The Labour Office paid out nearly 2.8 million crowns.
False applications for solidarity allowance brought perpetrators millions
Ostravska.drbna.cz reports that criminal investigators have concluded an investigation into an extensive fraudulent scheme involving benefits for solidarity households. Four accused individuals — two men and two women — allegedly deprived the state of nearly 2.8 million crowns. Police are now forwarding the file to the state prosecutor with a recommendation to file charges.
The solidarity household benefits were intended for people who, until July 2023, were providing free accommodation to foreign nationals with temporary protection. Two foreign nationals exploited this scheme and, according to investigators, offered more than seventy Ukrainian women assistance with processing a humanitarian grant. In reality, this gave them access to their banking identities.
"Using the obtained banking identities, they allegedly electronically submitted nearly 750 applications for solidarity household benefits without the women's knowledge. In them, they were to state false information proving entitlement to payment of the funds," explained police spokesperson Soňa Štětínská.
The Labour Office approved the applications in part — paying out nearly 2.8 million crowns in total, while rejecting remaining requests. If the rejected ones had also been approved, the damage would have exceeded five million crowns, the spokesperson clarified. The accused spent the earned money on expensive foreign holidays and thousands of online purchases. According to police, the girlfriends of both men also participated in laundering the proceeds.
The investigation lasted from mid-2023. Detectives examined financial flows, bank transactions, and dozens of personal documents, particularly travel passports. "The case file fills twelve archival boxes and the number of pages approaches five thousand," said Štětínská.
Approximately half of the damage caused has already been reimbursed by the accused. During house searches, police also secured assets — selling a motorcycle brought in around 300,000 crowns, with a further approximately 70,000 crowns coming from seized cash. These funds are to cover the remaining portion of compensation.
Both men face charges of fraud and money laundering from criminal activity, whilst both women are accused of laundering proceeds. "All accused individuals face sentences of imprisonment from two to eight years. Their criminal prosecution is currently being conducted while at liberty," concluded spokesperson Štětínská.
Source: Google News CZ — Crime (cs)