MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Koblenz city prosecutor's office and customs staff raided the offices of the Irish Ryanair airline in six German airports, local media said Wednesday.
According to German Zeit newspaper, the searches took place at the Berlin Schonefeld airport, the Cologne Bonn airport, Frankfurt-Hahn, Karlsruhe-Baden-Baden, Bremen and Weeze. The officers interviewed pilots and confiscated computers, tablet computers, flight schedules and other documents.
According to the prosecutor's office, the search operations were conducted under the investigation of two British employment agencies Brookfield Aviation and McGinley Aviation, which signed contracts with the pilots commissioned by Ryanair. They are suspected of tax evasion and the illegal withholding of pilots' salaries.
Ryainair and other low cost airlines often use other companies that sign contracts with pilots. Thus, neither employment agency, nor airline are committed to paying social security benefits.
