Spain : 58 Moroccans arrested for welfare fraud
The Spanish National Police, in collaboration with the Labor Inspectorate, has successfully dismantled a network of companies in Granada involved in facilitating illegal access to social assistance. The operation was spearheaded by a couple who orchestrated the scheme.
Authorities arrested 60 individuals, including 58 Moroccans who were found to be in Spain irregularly and were benefiting from these illicit funds. The investigation revealed that the total amount embezzled exceeded €211,000. Fortunately, a significant portion of this sum has been recovered and returned to the public treasury.
The focal point of the operation was a duo of business operators who sought to regularize the administrative status of numerous foreign nationals, predominantly Moroccans, through fraudulent job offers in the agricultural sector.
Both the National Police and the Labor Inspectorate scrutinized over a hundred applications for regularization submitted from various regions, including Granada, Almeria, Malaga, Huelva, and Murcia, as reported by Europa Press.
The probe commenced in November 2021, initiated by Granada's Immigration and Border Unit. Their investigation targeted the couple, who had facilitated the regularization of many Moroccans' legal status in Spain using fictitious job offers in agriculture.
Investigators quickly observed that the number of contracts issued was not only illogical but also vastly disproportionate to the actual capabilities of the businesses operated by the couple. This discrepancy was evident in both the amount of agricultural land and the volume of production claimed.
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