Charges against six suspects for illegal ride-hailing in Frankfurt

They are said to have built up a lucrative business over the years: They are said to have arranged rides via Uber and Bolt, used drivers who did not have social security and did not pay taxes. The Frankfurt public prosecutor's office has now brought charges against six accused. The accusation: large-scale illegal employment, tax evasion and the use of forged documents.

According to investigators, the five men with German or Turkish citizenship and the Vietnamese woman are said to have organized Uber and Bolt rides in Frankfurt am Main and the surrounding area between February 2022 and January 2025. The trips were almost exclusively taken over by drivers for whom no social security contributions were paid.

There is also another serious accusation: numerous drivers are said to have been given fake passenger transport tickets. In addition, those responsible are said to have not paid the sales tax on the trips.

Damage: More than three million euros

The scale of the process is considerable. The indictment counts a total of 719 cases. The public prosecutor puts the financial damage to social security funds and the tax authorities at around 3.4 million euros.

The investigation has been ongoing since the end of 2023. The case has now reached the Frankfurt regional court with the indictment. It will be decided there whether there will be a trial. The presumption of innocence applies to all accused.

The process had already attracted attention last year. Investigators took action against several suspects during a large-scale search operation. At that time there was talk of one of the largest proceedings against alleged violations in the ride-hailing industry.

As the Hessenschau reported in May, investigators assumed at that time that around 450 drivers could have been on the road for the companies involved. According to Hessischer Rundfunk, the head of the investigation at the time said that among the suspects there were a striking number of people who had only lived in Germany for a comparatively short time.

According to the Hessenschau report, up to 170 drivers were also suspected of having unlawfully received additional social benefits. According to the authorities, the investigations are not directed against the platform operators Uber and Bolt themselves.