Massive raids in Berlin: 1.5 million euros in social fraud!

Massive raids in Berlin: 1.5 million euros in social fraud!

Berlin, Deutschland - On July 15, 2025, around 200 customs officers in Berlin and five other federal states carried out extensive raids. These operations concerned residential and commercial buildings and took place in southern Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate. The background of the searches is a suspicion of social security fraud in the security industry, which is burdening the state and social security funds with a damage of at least 1.5 million euros.

The investigators have carried out a total of over 40 search resolutions in 34 objects. Here, both residential addresses and companies of the suspects and the companies that are presumably involved in the fraud model were searched. The companies concerned are said to have evaded social security contributions as part of a chain fraud.

background and mechanisms of fraud

Social security fraud denotes the intentional manipulation or veiling of facts in order to achieve unjustified services or avoid contribution payments. The central features include intentional acts, misleading information and the failure to do so. In the cases examined, this could have been done by the incorrect receipts and sale, for example invoices about non-performed services.

A typical feature of the fraud are employees who are usually not registered or only received with little wages for social security and instead receive black money payments. This leads to the creation of a black money circuit that enables targeted savings of social security contributions and taxes. Such practices are under the legal regulations of Section 263 of the Criminal Code (fraud) and Section 266a of the Criminal Code (withholding and misappropriation of WORKENGELT) as well as other relevant laws that are used in the area of social benefits.

determination and punishments

The current investigations are directed against several people on suspicion of the reservation of work fees and the aid for this. Evidence such as business documents, data carriers and mobile phones should be ensured during the searches. The first witnesses have already been heard to bring light into the dark of the alleged machinations.

Social security fraud can have considerable legal consequences. The punishments can be fines or imprisonment for up to five years; In severe cases, up to ten years are even possible. Employers who intentionally do not pay social security contributions must expect high repayment obligations and other sanctions.

The present investigations underline the seriousness of the topic and the efforts of the authorities to act against such fraudulent practices. The cooperation between different investigative authorities ensures that social security fraud does not remain undetected, which also strengthens the necessary control and the prevention of such crimes.

For further information and legal backgrounds on social security fraud, including the penalties for ads, the websites of rbb24 href = "https://www.juraforum.de/lexikon/sozialversicherungs fraud"> Juraforum and BMS Rechtsanwälte