Twelve people have been arrested in Almeria in two operations connected to the provision of fake work contracts of employment to immigrants at a cost of between €400 and €1,500 each.
The investigation began last November after two foreign workers complained that they had paid a certain amount of money in exchange for an employment contract which they could later use to obtain a residency permit.
A police investigation discovered that a number of contracts had been issued on behalf of various companies, although without their knowledge. Some of the contracts were for jobs as physiotherapists or haidressers, despite the immigrant workers having no knowledge or experience in those fields.
At least 25 companies have been affected by the fraudulent use of their data for the issuing of the fake work contracts.
Police found a common link with the work contracts, an assesor’s office in Almeria city, and this led to the arrest of nine people.
In El Ejido, three people were arrested for forging employment contracts. In this case, the fraudsters used the name of a company in Carboneras, forging the signature of the manager to issue contracts to foreign nationals.
Several of the detainees have a prior record for similar activities.