Bundesbeschaffungsgesellschaft suspends contract with “Hygiene Austria” – Coronavirus Vienna

In the case of the suspected relabeling of FFP2 masks at the protective mask manufacturer Hygiene Austria, a trace leads to Liechtenstein according to the newspaper “Kurier”. As the newspaper reported Wednesday afternoon, citing a “protective mask agent”, the bill for the delivery of 20 million Chinese masks to a foundation in Liechtenstein is said to have disappeared.

The masks were delivered to Palmers in Wiener Neudorf, the person described according to the “messenger”. It was a “strange business”. In the end, the products were supposed to go to Ukraine, but they would not be delivered there directly; all of this was more than unusual, the agent told the newspaper. He is said to have been questioned himself by the Lower Austrian criminal investigation department on Wednesday afternoon.

The masks he had delivered are also said to have a special feature: the Chinese leaflet was not welded together with the masks, but was instead loose in the box, according to the man.

On Tuesday, protective mask maker Hygiene Austria was searched on suspicion that masks produced in China were incorrectly labeled and sold as Austrian goods. The company, a joint venture between Upper Austrian fiber maker Lenzing and the Palmers textile group, rejects the allegations as “unfounded”.

The Bundesbeschaffungsgesellschaft BBG reacted to the house searches at the protective mask manufacturer Hygiene Austria and left the company “inactive” as a contractor; This means that until further notice it is not possible to order or order protective masks from Hygiene Austria via BBG. The BBG announced this on Wednesday at the request of the APA.

The supply of FFP2 protective masks is still guaranteed without restrictions, as Hygiene Austria LP GmbH is just one of more than 30 contractors in this area, the statement emphasizes.

A spokesperson for Hygiene Austria, the company is a joint venture between Upper Austrian fiber maker Lenzing and the Palmers textile group, confirmed the raids at two locations on Tuesday. According to the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA), it is a suspicion of organized undeclared work and serious commercial fraud. Specifically, the masks produced in China are said to have been incorrectly labeled and sold as Austrian goods.

According to its own information, BBG learned of the Hygiene Austria searches from media reports on Tuesday and asked the company for comment Tuesday evening. In addition, on March 2, a written request was made to the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA) for more information on the evaluation of the situation in the public procurement law.

In general, contracting authorities are not obliged to use the BBG framework agreement, but they can also carry out the procurement procedures themselves. If public bodies use the BBG framework agreement, they carry out the specific contracting and, among other things, the selection of the respective contractor based on the framework agreement entered into.

Of the more than 1,900 procurement processes carried out by public authorities to date, using the BBG framework agreement, Hygiene Austria LP GmbH was selected as a contractor in 184 cases, according to BBG. Four order processes have yet to be delivered. one has already gone through a public customer who has been questioned.

A total of around 160,000 face-to-face face masks and around 1.08 million FFP2 face masks were ordered based on the BBG framework agreement. Furthermore, according to BBG, there have been no large orders centrally organized to Hygiene Austria. “The extent to which public bodies have also purchased directly from Hygiene Austria LP GmbH is beyond our knowledge,” reads the written statement from the Federal Procurement Company.

Further steps now depend on the course of official measures and the results of BBG’s own audits based on contractual agreements.

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