Unlawful activities in construction: Entrepreneurs from Halle (Saale) face 3 years and 8 months in prison for their illegal practices.

A 51-year-old entrepreneur from Halle (Saale) with dual Serbian and Bosnian citizenship has been convicted by the Halle Regional Court for committing a total of 33 offenses of withholding and embezzling wages. The court's decision, handed down on April 30, 2025, is final and legally binding.

Extensive investigations by the Financial Control Black Work Halle (Saale) of the Main Customs Office Magdeburg revealed that the convicted person employed workers whose wages were paid under the table and not registered for social security. A total of almost 1.12 million euros in gross wages were paid in this manner during the period from March 2017 to January 2020.

The court found that the entrepreneur, who was not the owner of the construction company, withheld contributions to social security amounting to around 405,000 euros. The owner of the construction company has not been publicly disclosed.

The entrepreneur initially fled the country to avoid the proceedings but was provisionally arrested in Montenegro based on an arrest warrant. He served a prison sentence of approximately 3 months in Montenegro before extradition. The entrepreneur later made a full confession during the main hearing.

The Main Customs Office Magdeburg can be contacted for inquiries. Contact details for the office are as follows: Sebastian Schultz, telephone: 0391 / 5074 - 1206, email: [email protected], website: www.zoll.de.

The information about this case was originally transmitted by the Main Customs Office Magdeburg via news aktuell. The entrepreneur was sentenced to a total of three years and eight months in prison. The defendant's identity has not been made public due to ongoing legal proceedings.

It is important to note that withholding and embezzling wages is a serious offense that undermines the integrity of the labour market and the social security system. The Main Customs Office Magdeburg encourages anyone with information about such activities to come forward and report it.

Unlawful activities in construction: Entrepreneurs from Halle (Saale) face 3 years and 8 months in prison for their illegal practices.