A German from Saxony is said to have exploited over 200 asylum seekers from Iraq as cheap labor in Austria. The police speak of human trafficking, organized undeclared work and serious fraud.
(dpa)
According to the police in Austria, a German is said to have exploited 233 asylum seekers as workers. The 63-year-old, who lives in the Upper Austrian district of Vöcklabruck, had mediated the Iraqis mainly for cleaning services in the Alpine country and had them work up to 17 hours a day, the investigators reported on Tuesday. It is a case of human trafficking, organized undeclared work and serious fraud.
The suspect comes from the Saxon district of Zwickau, he came to Austria nine years ago. Since 2018 he has illegally employed asylum seekers as bogus self-employed, said lead investigator Ulrike Handlbauer of the German Press Agency.
The legally inexperienced Iraqis, who hardly spoke German, would only have been paid 9.50 euros per hour and had to deduct taxes and insurance from that. The police assume that the suspect caused total damage of around 1.2 million euros through unpaid taxes and unlawfully received corona aid.