More than 30 people held in Canary Islands for scamming €1 million in benefits

POLICE have held 32 people accused of defrauding more than €1,000,000 in unemployment benefits in Gran Canaria.

The accused allegedly benefited from social security funds designated to the unemployed and those in need, while also pretending to be employed by companies that did not need their services.

The companies involved in the plot reportedly employed more people than they needed in order to claim employment subsidies, while the workers received unemployment benefits at the same time.

Companies also allegedly did not pay into the Spanish Security System for the workers they supposedly hired, as is required by law.

Those arrested were accused of forging fraudulent documents and scamming money from public funds.