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Following the mask scandal surrounding the Austrian company Hygiene Austria, complaints are now being filed in Germany as well.
Minister Jens Spahn’s German Health Ministry (CDU) bought FFP2 protective masks from a company for which Spahn’s husband also works. This is clear from the documents that the ministry sent to the Bundestag and on which the “Spiegel” reported on Sunday. The masks deal could harbor conflicts of interest because Spahn’s husband, Daniel Funke, works as a lobbyist and manager of Burda’s representative office in Berlin.
Ministry: “Standardized Procedure”
When asked by AFP, Spahn’s ministry said: “The contract with Burda GmbH was concluded and processed after receiving the offer according to a standardized procedure at market prices.” He had previously also sent this statement to the news magazine “Der Spiegel”.
Burda: husband not “informed or involved”
According to “Spiegel”, Burda GmbH has delivered 570,000 FFP2 masks to Spahn’s ministry. A Burda spokesperson told the magazine: “The Hubert Burda Media board offered the Health Ministry in April 2020 to assist with the procurement of masks when the (German) federal government was urgently seeking trademarks.” Daniel Funke was “at no time informed of the transaction or involved”. Nor was commission paid.
According to Burda, the mask business arose through a company in Singapore in which the company has a ten percent stake. The price of the protective masks was $ 1.73 each. Burda advanced the purchase price and the ministry later reimbursed the price of a good 909,000 euros.
Arguments to the CDU / CSU
Germany is rocked by a scandal over corruption in the acquisition of protective crown masks. Members of the CDU / CSU parliamentary group and the CSU parliamentary group in the Bavarian state parliament face accusations that they have received high commissions for mediating protective masks or orders for production.
