Czech criminal investigators have charged two men and two women with large-scale benefit fraud after uncovering a scheme that siphoned off almost CZK 2.8 million (about €115 000) from a government programme designed to help households accommodate Ukrainian war-displaced persons. According to Moravian-Silesian police spokeswoman Soňa Štětínská, the quartet— all foreign nationals with temporary residence in Czechia—offered refugee families “administrative help” in filing for the so-called solidarity allowance that the state paid to Czech hosts in 2022-23.
Instead of submitting legitimate claims, the suspects electronically lodged roughly 750 false applications using refugees’ banking identities, then diverted the pay-outs to their own accounts. Investigators say the money was spent on luxury on-line shopping and expensive foreign holidays. Had labour-office clerks not rejected a further batch of suspicious claims, the damage could have topped CZK 6 million.
![Czech Police Bust €115 000 Refugee-Housing Benefit Fraud Ring]()
The solidarity allowance—originally set at CZK 5 000 per hosted refugee per month—helped more than 70 000 Ukrainian evacuees find short-term housing in the first year of Russia’s full-scale invasion. The scheme moved to direct payments to refugees in July 2023, but the case shows that legacy vulnerabilities can linger in social-support systems.
Legal experts note that convictions for subsidy fraud can carry up to ten years in prison and a deportation order. Compliance officers at relocation firms are advised to re-check any historic use of intermediaries when helping Ukrainian employees regularise their status, to avoid reputational risk. Employers should also remind staff that the Interior Ministry’s adaptation-integration portal now offers multilingual guidance on legitimate benefit channels.
Instead of submitting legitimate claims, the suspects electronically lodged roughly 750 false applications using refugees’ banking identities, then diverted the pay-outs to their own accounts. Investigators say the money was spent on luxury on-line shopping and expensive foreign holidays. Had labour-office clerks not rejected a further batch of suspicious claims, the damage could have topped CZK 6 million.
The solidarity allowance—originally set at CZK 5 000 per hosted refugee per month—helped more than 70 000 Ukrainian evacuees find short-term housing in the first year of Russia’s full-scale invasion. The scheme moved to direct payments to refugees in July 2023, but the case shows that legacy vulnerabilities can linger in social-support systems.
Legal experts note that convictions for subsidy fraud can carry up to ten years in prison and a deportation order. Compliance officers at relocation firms are advised to re-check any historic use of intermediaries when helping Ukrainian employees regularise their status, to avoid reputational risk. Employers should also remind staff that the Interior Ministry’s adaptation-integration portal now offers multilingual guidance on legitimate benefit channels.
