The financial police carried out 14,200 checks in the current six-month period. The officials not only scrutinized illegal gambling establishments, but also corona test laboratories and filed criminal complaints in the amount of more than eleven million euros. “The controls of the financial police ensure fair competitive conditions,” said Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (VP) on the occasion of the presentation of the half-year balance sheet. This protects “honest companies”, which is “all the more important in challenging times like these”.
Leasing company particularly bold
Of the 27,000 employees checked, 2000 were not properly registered for social security, of which 1400 were illegally employed EU foreigners or third-country nationals. In March, several Covid 19 test laboratories in Salzburg were examined during a focus campaign. 57 domestic and 279 foreign employees of 41 companies were inspected. These checks revealed more than 60 violations. A leasing company that tried to quickly register the asylum seekers for social security during the official procedure was particularly brazen.
Another focus was on wage and social dumping, in which workers are employed abroad but placed in Austria. The controls in 1,600 companies resulted in 1,800 criminal complaints with fines amounting to four million euros. In the past six months, illegal gambling has also been “continued successfully contained”, reported the financial police. 233 slot machines were confiscated during 179 controls. 65 criminal complaints were filed against the operators and fines of 1.4 million euros were imposed. In the third district of Vienna, the officials came across a large-scale poker casino in a residential building. The business flourished, the owner was registered as long-term unemployed and received social assistance. The officers also found cocaine and stolen goods on him.
The gambling establishments would increasingly develop into “multi-criminal locations”, the financial police stated. In addition to gambling, prostitution, money lending, receiving stolen goods and smuggling are also operated on them.
Source: Nachrichten
