In Tyrol, the police, in cooperation with finance, health insurance and the labor market service, were able to uncover a large-scale fraud. A personnel leasing company based in the Innsbruck area is said to have provided staff on a large scale for various general contractors in the Tyrolean construction industry without paying the due taxes. There were house searches and three arrests. The damage is said to amount to several hundred thousand euros.
Investigations into suspected serious commercial fraud have been ongoing since October. According to anonymous reports, it turned out “that a personnel leasing company in the Innsbruck area has been providing staff for various well-known general contractors in the Tyrolean construction industry on a large scale since January 2021, without paying the taxes due in Austria to the health insurance fund, construction workers’ vacation and severance pay fund and the tax office “The police reported on Wednesday. 30,500 working hours. Gradually the enormous extent came to light. The investigators found that the company had apparently not properly billed or declared more than 30,500 hours since the previous year. “However, in order to be able to pay for the numerous overtime hours of the employees, there is, among other things, the suspicion that the company manipulatively issued increased ‘coverage invoices’ to its foreign subcontractors and brought cash amounts back to Austria via so-called ‘kick-back payments’ and illegally collected”, the investigators continue. The two known suspects are said to have used a straw woman as commercial manager in order to maintain the appearance of a “clean” company. “Furthermore, the accused were suspected of infidelity, social security fraud and the fraudulent withholding of social security contributions and surcharges,” it said. Arrests and house searches As early as mid-April, the Innsbruck public prosecutor ordered three suspects “in a targeted joint action with around 30 Officials from the Tyrolean State Criminal Police Office were arrested.” In addition, five house searches were ordered in the Innsbruck and Kufstein areas, during which assets of over 600,000 euros were seized. The two main suspects were remanded in custody in April. A suspected contributor was reported on the loose because of his comprehensive information and released from the Innsbruck police detention center. According to the Innsbruck public prosecutor’s office, the total damage was at least 275,000 euros. However, further investigations into this are still ongoing.
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