GEFCO has responded to allegations its staff were involved in recruiting drivers who carried out undeclared work. The company says 3 of its staff have been dismissed and that an internal audit will be conducted.
Last month, four French leaders of the GEFCO group were placed in police custody as part of a 3-year international investigation into the undeclared work of truck drivers.
The four directors were indicted in Vesoul for “using an organized group to use the services of people carrying out hidden work” . The quartet were released under judicial supervision after having paid deposits ranging from 4,000 to 10,000 euros.
The aforementioned investigation has led to the arrest of ten people in total. It is alleged that the ten individuals were responsible for a network of truck drivers from Poland and Slovakia who had been driving in France without their work being declared.
GEFCO is suspected of having contracted out these low-cost truck drivers. If the four French leaders of GEFCO are found guilty of coordinating this undeclared work, they could face a 10-year prison sentence.
According to francebleu.fr, GEFCO has declared it has stopped cooperating with some of the companies implicated by the investigation.
Moreover, in an email sent out to French media, GEFCO confirmed that 3 individuals linked to the scandal had been dismissed. The manager nonetheless remains on GEFCO’s books:
We confirm that three former employees and a current manager of GEFCO France SAS have been indicted for hidden work with regard to subcontractors.
In addition to the above, GEFCO announced that it would conduct an internal audit over the issue:
In accordance with our codes of ethics, we have undertaken an action of verification and internal audit to verify that the control systems in the management of our subcontractors are fully respected.
Photo credit: Gerd Fahrenhorst / Wikimedia Commons