Overview

• Labor Minister Bärbel Bas warned of “mafia-like structures” exploiting EU mobility to recruit workers for black labor while claiming German benefits.
• Emeritus professor Gerhard Bosch confirmed systematic social insurance fraud in Duisburg’s Hochheide high-rise blocks known as the “Weißen Riesen.”
• Authorities estimate at least 3.3 million unregistered workers in 2024 and project the shadow economy will top €511 billion this year.
• Black labor is most prevalent in construction, gastronomy, cleaning and care services, costing businesses about €300 billion in lost sales and depriving the state of tax and social security revenues.
• City officials and the federal labor ministry back proposals to establish dedicated taskforces and enhance data sharing among authorities to dismantle organized welfare fraud.