THE HAGUE, Netherlands
European law enforcement agency Europol said Tuesday that it had foiled an attempt to cheat German health authorities by selling them millions of euros worth of non-existent face masks amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Europol said in a statement that two companies were contracted by the German government last month to buy face masks valued at 15 million euros ($16.4 million).
The companies, based in Hamburg and Zurich, got in touch with a supplier firm registered in Spain to purchase a total of 10 million medical masks.
When the sale failed to materialize, the two companies
