Overview
- More than 3,200 customs officers conducted risk-based inspections across Germany targeting undeclared work and illegal employment in the construction sector.
- In Hesse, the Gießen office interviewed 223 workers from 73 firms, made several provisional detentions for suspected illegal stay, and flagged 16 suspected bogus self-employment cases plus two possible minimum-wage violations.
- In Hamburg, 199 workers were questioned, two suspects face proceedings for alleged illegal stay and document forgery, and 46 additional cases are under review for potential minimum-wage and wage-withholding offenses.
- In the Bremen jurisdiction, unannounced checks in Delmenhorst and Stade produced one on-site criminal case for suspected illegal stay and multiple indications of unpaid minimum wages, unregistered social-security contributions and improper benefit claims.
- Officials describe the on-site phase as the start of broader FKS inquiries, with payroll and financial-record audits underway and a separate Mühlhausen prosecution alleging €1.2 million in tax and social-security damage continuing.