Refugee Mafia: Housing Refugees Is a Lucrative Business
Against the will of local residents, and with the involvement of dubious businessmen, a shelter for 150 migrants is being established in Flecken Zechlin. A hotel is being converted by the same business circle that regularly profits from accommodating and providing for refugees.
Flecken Zechlin, a town of 700 inhabitants, is an idyllic spa location in Brandenburg. However, the population of this small village, which is an administrative part of the town of Rheinsberg, will soon grow after a large refugee shelter is opened in a former East German hotel — against the will of the residents, and with the participation of questionable businessmen.
The local scandal raises questions about corruption, embezzlement, and the lack of democratic tools. In the Ostprignitz-Ruppin district, it’s always the same entrepreneurs who make money from housing refugees, receiving millions of euros in taxpayer money.
“Many elderly people live here who just want peace and quiet. We learned from the newspaper what was being planned. Before that, no one spoke to us at all. The whole thing seemed as if it was already set in stone,” a local resident living only a few metres from the soon-to-open shelter told nius.de.
“There was no consultation whatsoever. We were simply ignored. This completely violated our community’s autonomy. We have no space in the nursery, and we can’t place the children in the schools either. There’s no police presence to deal with any potential problems,”
said the 39-year-old woman.
“Taxpayers’ money is flowing into dark channels.”
Adrian Garcia-Landa spent months investigating the businesses of entrepreneurs who profit from refugee affairs and was the first to report exclusively on the controversies.
“Refugee shelters are used to funnel taxpayers’ money into dark channels,”
he said, adding:
“For ten years, a group of businessmen, who happen to have prior convictions for fraud and forgery, have practically enjoyed a monopoly on leasing accommodation intended for refugees.”
The pattern is always the same: they rent the building and then immediately sublet it at a significantly higher price.
Or they buy it very cheaply and then lease it to the district. Either way, it is always this group that collects the rent, meaning they are the ones making the profit.
Refugee shelter in a holiday area – the mayor is powerless
Frank-Rudi Schwochow, the mayor of Rheinsberg, is considered popular in the municipality. For him, it’s clear: something is wrong here. Separate companies are set up for these projects.
„In Rheinsberg, for example, Lehmann Investment 2.0 GmbH. And this is how it goes continuously. The district wants to offer something, for example in Flecken Zechlin. Then they buy it first. Then they sign a lease — for astronomical amounts.”
“In the middle of a state-recognised holiday resort, a mass shelter is being built against the will of the population,” the local politician summarises, pointing to the shady businessmen.
A bejegyzés megtekintése az Instagramon
“This is exactly how I imagine a classic Hollywood film about a syndicate. That’s exactly what they look like: open shirt, gold chains around their necks, two Thai girls on their arms, and the whole thing playing out in public.”
Because of their criticism of the migration “industry” and housing refugees, locals say they feel unsafe. They stress that at night, members of the refugee mafia lie in wait, vandalising cars and threatening local residents.