Germany intensifies fight against social welfare fraud: Romanians and Bulgarians exploited by criminal networks
German authorities are targeting schemes through which organised networks bring vulnerable people from Romania and Bulgaria, house them in squalid conditions and collect social benefits in their names.
Germany tackles social welfare fraud schemes targeting immigrants from Romania and Bulgaria
Germany announced on Wednesday its intention to intensify the fight against social welfare fraud, targeting organised networks that exploit vulnerable citizens from EU member states. Digi24 reports that German authorities have identified systematic schemes through which poor people, including those from Romania and Bulgaria, are brought into the country under false pretences, housed in squalid dwellings and used to illegally obtain social benefits.
State Secretary for Labour, Social Democrat Leonie Gebers, stated at a press conference in Berlin that "it is unacceptable that the right to free movement within the EU is being abusively exploited". She added that the phenomenon "has become a problem faced by municipalities across all of Germany", according to AFP, cited by Agerpres.
"People are crammed into squalid dwellings, and their suffering and misery are exploited to collect social benefits that often end up in the pockets of criminal networks. In the Ruhr, this is a major issue", Gebers further said.
One of the most common schemes involves organised networks bringing poor people, often Roma, from Romania and Bulgaria into Germany, offering them fictitious employment contracts and subsequently collecting child allowances or housing subsidies in their names. The phenomenon is particularly visible in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, where April 2027 elections are anticipated amid rising far-right support in polls.
To combat these practices, the German government intends to improve data exchange between employment agencies, social services, tax authorities and police, thereby eliminating legislative gaps that allow fraudsters to operate. Municipalities are to receive additional resources to intervene in the dilapidated buildings where families victimised by these networks are housed.
The Berlin executive is also targeting tougher sanctions for employers who resort to undeclared work and proposes to provide information and advice in the countries of origin of people "who could be tempted by false promises".
Source: Digi24