Wednesday, October 2
Bolt, Uber and the “ghost company” scam
An investigation from rbb has revealed that at least 10 companies operating via platforms like Uber, Bolt and FreeNow are working illegally. In many cases, these are so-called “ghost companies” operating without any real address: that means no office, no break room, or parking spaces for the vehicles, all of which are legally required.
In one case, when visiting the alleged office of one of the registered companies, the reporter was told: “Those are ghost companies. But don’t name me, otherwise they’ll set fire to my office.”
According to transport policy spokesperson Tino Schopf (SPD), these companies are engaged in organised crime, establishing bogus firms with the aim of defrauding the state.
The scam appears to work like this: the companies rent a headquarters for a short time in order to gain the relevant approvals, then shut them down to save costs while continuing to operate on platforms like Uber and Bolt. Many of the companies were also found to be paying little to no accident insurance, and evading taxes.
