Dawn Raid Alerting: Quick reaction and reliable documentation
Alert staff members and consultants fast. Ensure a controlled and calm process during a dawn raid.
Dawn raids by customs, financial police or labour market authorities: How to be prepared
Dawn raids at companies are not uncommon - and they often come completely unprepared. In addition to investigations by the public prosecutor's office or proceedings by competition authorities, other bodies can also initiate a search.
The occasion: suspicion of undeclared work, illegal employment, social security fraud or breaches of tax obligations. Companies in the construction, catering, transport and care sectors are particularly affected.
In an emergency, every second counts. With safeREACH, you can discreetly alert the people who need to act now - whether management, the legal department or an external law firm - in a matter of seconds. Digital checklists provide employees with clear instructions for action.
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IT alerting, fire alarms, alerting company first responders and much more. ISO-certified server infrastructure. Used by SMEs, corporations, authorities and public organisations.
Benefits of safeREACH for dawn raid alerting
Stress-free process
Compliance is ensured through the digital retrieval of checklists.
Clear communication
With a secure chat function, you are immediately in contact with all alerted persons. This ensures a coordinated approach.
Complete and audit-proof documentation
Every step is documented. The report is audit-proof.
Unannounced house searches often lead to stress. With safeREACH, everyone is informed quickly and a controlled process is guaranteed.
Typical reasons for dawn raids
Dawn raids in companies are not always triggered by media-effective antitrust proceedings. In practice, it is often everyday offences that lead to drastic measures - especially if there is a lack of preparation. The most frequent triggers include
- Inspections by the Finanzkontrolle Schwarzarbeit (FKS) - Germany
The FKS is part of the main customs offices and takes action against illegal employment, bogus self-employment and violations of the Minimum Wage Act. - Operations of the financial police - Austria
The Austrian financial police inspect companies for illegal employment, social dumping and tax offences, among other things. - Checks by cantonal authorities - Switzerland
In Switzerland, undeclared work is combated by cantonal labour market authorities, AHV funds, the Border Guard Corps and other agencies. Dawn raids can also be carried out here in the event of serious offences. - Tax and social security audits
Investigations by tax investigators or inspections by social security organisations can also lead to searches.
The focus is particularly on high-risk sectors: construction, catering, transport and logistics, care and cleaning services.
With safeREACH, you can alert all the relevant people discreetly and in seconds in the event of an emergency - whether management, the compliance team or external lawyers.
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safeREACH as your powerful emergency notification system with up to 100.000 alarms per minute. Successfully used by multinational corporations, medium-sized companies and public authorities. ISO-certified server infrastructure.
Dawn raids: requirements and procedure
A dawn raid is usually a surprise for the people and companies involved. The often unannounced execution quickly leads to panic. What needs to be considered during a dawn raid in order to ensure that things run smoothly in an emergency?
What is a dawn raid?
In a nutshell, the term refers to a search of premises.
Requirements for carrying out a dawn raid in criminal law
The requirements for a dawn raid are country-specific. We are referring to a dawn raid in Austria. The requirements are set out in the Code of Criminal Procedure. However, the financial criminal authorities are also authorised in principle to carry out a search if there is a concrete suspicion of tax evasion. In Austria, the authorities refer to the Fiscal Offences Act.
In principle, a dawn raid is carried out as part of the investigation procedure. At this stage, it is clarified whether charges will be brought. The authorities are therefore dependent on external and internal information.
Under Austrian law, the following conditions apply to a dawn raid:
- Admissibility according to § 119 StPO. The wording: ‘Searches of places and objects (Section 117 no. 2) are permissible if it can be assumed on the basis of certain facts that a person suspected of a criminal offence is concealed there or that there are objects or traces that are to be seized or evaluated.’
There must therefore be a suspicion and at the same time a search for specific items. The determination of specific items is usually not described in detail, but rather a relatively unspecific reference is made to time periods when searching for documents. However, the grounds for the suspicion must be explained. The search must be authorised by the court, except in cases of imminent danger.
Procedure of a dawn raid
First, a search warrant is issued, whereupon the competent authorities begin their work. The search warrant must then be served on the person or company concerned within 24 hours.
An officer in charge discusses the formalities on site and the company is informed of the expected course of the dawn raid. Presence during the search is permitted. A trusted person, such as a lawyer, should be consulted.
The authorities are authorised to inspect and check all documents during the investigation of the company. Confiscation is also possible, and a report will be drawn up. Appeals can be lodged.
Over 20 years of experience in alerting
IT alerting, fire alarms, alerting company first responders and much more. ISO-certified server infrastructure. Used by SMEs, corporations, authorities and public organisations.
Is a dawn raid possible without being present?
The person concerned should always be present during the search. It is then possible to consult a trusted person such as a lawyer. If the person concerned is not present, according to oesterreich.gv.at, an adult family member or another resident of the house will be called in. If they are not present, two uninvolved, trustworthy persons are called in to observe the search.
Dawn raids in antitrust law
Dawn raids in companies are mainly carried out when the authorities suspect collusion. They are looking for information that confirms this suspicion.
Before a dawn raid, it is important to prepare all employees for this stressful situation. Training the IT department is particularly important here, as electronic data is a key focus of the search.
Dawn raids also have a surprising element for companies, as they take place unannounced. During this official visit, it is essential to involve lawyers who accompany the respective persons from the competition authority as so-called ‘shadows’.
The authority itself requires a search warrant in order to take action. The competition authority is bound by the object of the investigation. After the search, a follow-up is carried out to plan the next steps.
safeREACH enables a stress-free dawn raid
A dawn raid is a search of premises. Certain conditions must be met for this. A search warrant must be received by the person/company concerned within 24 hours. Appeals can be lodged.
No matter how big the surprise effect of a dawn raid is - with safeREACH you can react quickly and safely to this situation. Employees can react immediately to the search with the alarm and receive precise instructions on what to do. At the same time, safeREACH alerts all internal and external persons specified in the software about the search.
Reliable alerting and crisis management with safeREACH
Find out how you can use safeREACH for better emergency and crisis management in your organisation. We would be happy to show you the benefits of our trusted systems.
Michael Mayer
Chief Product Officer and Customer Support