The Financial Police have uncovered multiple violations during inspections of seven hotels in Vienna, leading to substantial fines.
The operation, conducted on 18 June but only made public by the Ministry of Finance on Monday, resulted in fines totalling €68,000, in addition to the immediate recovery of over €43,000 in overdue taxes.
The inspections primarily targeted foreign staff, who are commonly employed in cleaning and service roles.
Among the 96 foreign employees inspected, 23 offences were recorded, indicating that one in four of the foreign workers checked were employed illegally.
At one hotel in Vienna’s 7th district, half of the ten cleaning staff were found to be working illegally. Furthermore, four arrests were made on site by security authorities for illegal residence in Austria. At another hotel, passports of three foreign employees were confiscated.
Finance Minister Magnus Brunner stated, “The inter-agency focus operations are a crucial element in our fight against undeclared work. We are rigorously combating tax and duty fraud. The Financial Police have prevented further damage with this operation and will continue to take targeted action against such criminal activities in the future.”
Wilfried Lehner, Head of the Financial Police, emphasised, “The priority checks in the hotel cleaning sector will be continued and, if necessary, intensified by the Financial Police to protect legal providers.”
Last week, the Financial Police also disclosed details of their raids on several taxi companies in Vienna, which resulted in fines amounting to €340,000.
Read more: Vienna Taxi Checks Uncover Fraud
