A DR document reveals a payroll fraud on public construction sites: Hundreds of employees sent home.

Italian construction giant suspends collaboration on three public projects due to wage fraud by a subcontractor, Tekno Fire. The Albanian company has provided labor for the construction of supersygehuses in Køge and Odense, as well as the new Storstrømsbro. Over 270 workers have been sent home from these three projects.

The DR documentary 'På statens regning,' which airs on Tuesday, reveals that Tekno Fire employees were required to repay portions of their wages to the company. This was discovered through hidden recordings and a hidden camera.

The documentary also reveals that Tekno Fire employees were working under the so-called 'beløbsordning,' which requires them to earn a high wage in Denmark. However, their wages were not paid in full to a Danish bank account as required by the regulation.

The documentary series 'Underdanmark' previously exposed how migrant workers were subjected to health hazardous working conditions () and were cheated out of their wages on Danish construction sites ().

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Beløbsordningen

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The 'beløbsordning' is a regulation that determines who can work in Denmark. Its purpose is to allow Denmark to accept only highly qualified labor from countries outside the EU and EEA.

To obtain a work permit through the ordning, one must earn a minimum of 487,000 kroner per year before taxes, or 40,583 kroner per month. This requirement does not necessitate a specific education or job within a particular field or industry.

The wages up to and including the beløbsgrænsen must be paid into a Danish bank account held by a bank that operates legally in Denmark. It is a condition that the wage and employment terms are in accordance with Danish standards.

Source: Styrelsen for International Rekruttering og Integration (SIRI)

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Tekno Fire has provided labor for the construction of the upcoming supersygehuses in Odense and Køge, as well as the new Storstrømsbro, which is expected to connect Zealand and Falster via Masnedø. These projects have a combined budget of at least 18 billion kroner for the state.

DR News attempted to secure an interview with Tekno Fire in response to the suspension, but it was not possible.

Alban Cejku owns and manages Tekno Fire.

However, Cejku denies any knowledge of the fraud in the documentary, despite evidence of a repayment being made at Tekno Fire's office in Albania.

- I suspended all employees who worked in the first tier in Denmark and the accounting department in Albania. I will speak with all workers about why this situation occurred and why I didn't know about it, he says in the documentary.

Read also: Hidden recordings reveal: Intetanende migrant workers were made to remove asbestos ()

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Threatening to terminate contract

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The large Italian construction company Itinera is the main contractor on these three large projects.

In response to the documentary, Itinera has addressed several criticisms and is currently dealing with them.

- The information about Tekno Fire in the briefing is questionable. When we became aware of rumors about the company a few weeks ago, we immediately informed the relevant authorities, says Barry Crouchman, Nordic Area Manager at Itinera in an email.

According to him, all employees are required to undergo a safety introduction and an introduction to the Danish labor market rules, but this was not enough to uncover the fraud.

- When we understood the gravity of these allegations, we immediately suspended the company from the three construction sites in Denmark where they were working, and of course, we have informed our clients about the decision, writes Barry Crouchman in the email.

Itinera states that further investigation is being conducted.

- If we discover anything, we will not hesitate to report the company to the relevant authorities and terminate the contract with Tekno Fire.

Read also: 'Mad images': Large demolition company acknowledges dangerous errors on construction site ()

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Under pressure

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Laust Høgedahl, a lecturer at Aalborg University, researches the working conditions of migrant workers. According to him, migrant workers are not capable of handling the fraud they are subjected to.

- They don't have a sufficient understanding of how the Danish labor market functions. They have great difficulty comprehending the situation. It is the responsibility of the labor unions, Danish authorities, and employers, he says.

This is due to the fact that they risk being fired if they report problems.

Read also: 'The black swan': A well-known invoice factory is linked to the 'black money' and money laundering in a new DR documentary ()

- Migrant workers are subjected to a different kind of pressure than Danish wage earners. Therefore, they find themselves in more difficult situations, he assesses.

The main contractor Itinera has previously been in trouble for underpaying employees, breaching contracts, and fabricating timesheets ().

The documentary 'På statens regning' airs on Tuesday at 06.00 and will be available on DRTV. It will be broadcast at 21.25 on DR1.

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