Four undocumented Moroccans employed in French orchards, €140,000 in contributions evaded
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Bladi
An inspection at a farm in Albias, in Tarn-et-Garonne, France, found four Moroccan workers without work permits. Investigators cite more than 19,000 undeclared hours and about 140,000 euros in evaded contributions. A Moroccan contractor and a 72-year-old fruit grower are being prosecuted before the court in Montauban, according to La Dépêche du Midi.
An inspection carried out on 19 September 2023 by the border police and the Mutualité sociale agricole (MSA) at a farm in Albias, in Tarn-et-Garonne, France, found four Moroccan workers without work permits. According to La Dépêche du Midi, a 72-year-old French fruit grower and a contractor of Moroccan origin are being prosecuted before the criminal court in Montauban.
Gendarmes from Nègrepelisse investigated the services provided between January 2022 and August 2023. They counted more than 19,000 hours of work presumed to be undeclared, equivalent to about 140,000 euros in evaded social contributions. Nearly 237,000 euros in wages are said to have escaped social declarations.
The farmer says she turned to the company of a 50-year-old Moroccan man, first name Mostafa, for lack of seasonal workers. The services were paid at a flat rate, based on about 15 euros an hour. She acknowledged having drawn up the service contracts herself, because her subcontractor had difficulty writing French, and not having checked the workers' work permits.
The contractor says he drew up the payslips from the hours reported by his employees, without systematically tracking their working time. Inspectors also criticise him for not providing the documents requested. Both defendants deny the offences.
