Austria faces rising social fraud and subsidy scams

The Chamber of Labour (Arbeiterkammer) in Vienna has warned of an increase in systemic social fraud by companies. According to the organization, some businesses are increasingly using insolvency as a business model, abusing the system to leave unpaid wages to be covered by public funds.

In a related development regarding financial fraud, two entrepreneurs in Carinthia are facing charges of serious fraud at the Klagenfurt Regional Court. The defendants are accused of defrauding the Austrian Economic Chamber (Wirtschaftskammer Österreich) and the Republic of Austria by using fabricated evidence to claim high sums in subsidies for non-existent apprenticeship training courses.