The number of people coming from Ukraine to Germany as refugees from the war is increasing. Recently, it was noticed that some of them, in addition to Ukrainian citizenship, have the citizenship of another EU country, for example, Hungary or Romania. “Fake” Ukrainians fraudulently received money from the German state.

If they identify themselves exclusively as citizens of Ukraine, they have the right to obtain citizenship. “Such cases are now increasing, especially in Baden-Württemberg. This raises the suspicion that some people are trying to obtain German citizenship by fraud, Focus online reports.

The fraud was noticed because some of these alleged war refugees did not even speak Ukrainian, as reported by various immigration agencies in the region.

The Ministry of Justice and Migration of Baden-Württemberg confirmed this to Focus-Online: “Persons who spoke only in Hungarian and could present only recently issued Ukrainian passports appeared before the immigration authorities,” the press secretary said.

Browse files

More than a thousand cases have been registered in Baden-Württemberg, and the process of reviewing the files has begun. As a result, from May 25, 2023, German immigration authorities began to centrally report suspicious cases to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF).

According to a BAMF representative, “To date, approximately 1,380 cases have been reported in Baden-Württemberg. We received about 500 responses from the Ukrainian and Hungarian sides. Of these, Hungarian citizenship was confirmed in 58 cases.”

Unauthorized receipt of social benefits by deception is punishable. This means that committing social fraud is punishable by up to five years in prison. First-time offenders can only receive a fine.

In more serious cases, such as fraud on a commercial scale, membership of a criminal organization, causing significant financial damage or involving public officials, the penalty can be increased to ten years in prison.

In the case of “fake” Ukrainians, this means that if Hungarian or Romanian citizenship is proven, temporary refugee protection will not be granted. “If the residence permit has already been issued, it will be taken back,” said Siegfried Loreck (CDU), state secretary for migration in Baden-Württemberg.

“Once the right of residence is revoked, the requirement to pay the citizenship allowance no longer applies, the payments are collected, and criminal liability is imposed.”

There are currently 8-10 suspected cases in Biberach that this may relate to. According to the press secretary, these people “were distinguished by their good knowledge of the Hungarian language and, at the same time, their lack of knowledge of Ukrainian.”

Another spokesman for the immigration service in the Sigmaringen area said: “In specific cases, during the application process, it was observed that the persons concerned could not communicate with a Ukrainian or Russian interpreter.”

However, the cases do not concern persons with declared dual citizenship. “They were living in Ukraine when the war started,” the spokesman explained. Dual citizenship is not uncommon in these border areas.

Losses in the billions

Social security fraud is costing Germany billions of euros. Various cases testify to what tricks criminals use to take money from the state. According to the Ministry of Labour, Citizen’s Allowance (Bürgergeld) is intended to provide livelihoods for people who cannot find work or cannot live on their income alone.

But many people are abusing the welfare system, which has been in place for more than a year, just like the so-called Hartz IV welfare system before it.

Recently, the case of a Ukrainian family that received social assistance in the amount of approximately 40,000 euros from Germany during the year caused outrage, reports Focus.de.

After fleeing war-torn Ukraine, the family applied for citizenship in Germany, but returned home a few months later. For months, the German authorities did not notice that the family no longer lived in Germany.

Last year, a particularly audacious scam was reported in the district of Ilm in Thuringia: out of approximately 2,400 Ukrainian refugees, 52 were already registered in other EU countries. As a result, some received social assistance twice, reports MDR radio. As a result, benefits for accommodation, medical care, financial support and expenses for the initial equipment of housing were allegedly fraudulently obtained.

But it is not only Ukrainians or “Lypen” refugees from the war who want to use the benefits of citizenship illegally. Germany and Austria also have gang scams from southeastern Europe, says economist Friedrich Schneider of the University of Linz for the ZDFheute TV show.

Officials estimate the financial loss caused by social fraud only approximately. Of the 40,000 cases investigated, approximately 4,200 resulted in fines and 93 people were sentenced to prison.

The Federal Employment Agency estimates proven financial losses of around 272.5 million euros for 2022 due to social welfare fraud on citizens’ assistance, while customs says an uncovered amount of losses of more than 87.9 million euros related to unemployment benefits and undeclared labor .

“These numbers are not bad, but they do not include the number of unregistered cases,” explains economist Schneider. He also emphasizes that the line between social security fraud and undeclared work is thin: “Social security fraud also starts with me hiring someone to take care of sick, elderly people (parents or grandparents) and not declaring it.”