Raid on problem house

Asylum failure: social fraud with 59 phantom children!

Last year, a raid on the "Weißer Riese" high-rise apartment building in Duisburg uncovered large-scale social fraud. Several arrests were made.

(Bild: APA/dpa/Christoph Reichwein)

Dozens of cases of social fraud have been discovered during a major raid on the "Weißer Riese" high-rise building in the German city of Duisburg. Residents, mostly from Romania and Bulgaria, had invented a total of 59 children in order to collect child benefit ...

It was one of the largest raids against social abuse in Germany to date when, at the end of October 2024, around 400 officers from the police, public order office, foreigners registration office and employment agency searched the high-rise building known as the "White Giant" in Duisburg's Hochheide district to check how many of the residents - including children in particular - were actually at their registered place of residence.

The city suspected that not all of the registered children were actually living there. 

16 arrests
The raid ultimately confirmed the suspicion: after checking around 320 apartments, the officers discovered that far more people were registered in the "White Giant" than actually lived there. Of the almost 1,400 registered residents, most of whom come from Bulgaria and Romania, only around 600 were actually found during the raid. 16 people were arrested - mainly for breaches of residence law - and a total of 59 cases of child benefit fraud were uncovered.

Money is now being reclaimed
As the "Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung" newspaper has now reported, a total of 177,000 euros were transferred to families for children who were only registered there as fictitious. According to the responsible authority, the money will now be reclaimed. In any case, future payments of 1.2 million euros have been stopped, the authority calculated with regard to the entitlement to child benefit up to the age of 18.

Child benefit for foreigners in Germany

• According to the German Federal Employment Agency, citizens from the EU, EEA and Switzerland can also receive child benefit.
• The following conditions apply to those of this origin who have moved to Germany since August 2019: From the fourth month after your arrival, the requirements of the Freedom of Movement Act must be met.
• Parents whose children live abroad can also receive child benefit. The nationality of the parents is not decisive, the only important factor is whether the parents pay taxes in Germany.
• This is the case, for example, if the persons concerned are self-employed or employed. It is also the case if they are job seekers or involuntarily unemployed or if their right to freedom of movement can be derived from a family member. It is also the case if they have sufficient resources and health insurance cover or have acquired a permanent right of residence.

High-rise building is considered a social hotspot
The high-rise building known as the "White Giant" in the Homberg district, with its 320 apartments on 20 floors, repeatedly makes negative headlines. For example, cases of illegal residence are reported. In the past, there have been incidents between rival gangs. Last year, the logistics company DHL refused to deliver parcels there for weeks. The Bonn-based company said that delivery staff had been threatened.

Residential building from the seventies
The city of Duisburg has been struggling for years to upgrade the neighborhood together with the owners. The "White Giant" is one of several high-rise buildings built in the 1970s that were initially in high demand. The buildings fell into disrepair due to inadequate maintenance. They are considered social hotspots. Two of them have been demolished and a third is due to be demolished this year. In the case of the tower block where the raid took place, the city has so far had no recourse due to complicated ownership structures.