Bavarian prosecutors have arrested a suspect in a corruption case related to the fraudulent scheme to procure protective mask amid the coronavirus pandemic, the national media reported on Thursday, citing the Munich prosecutor's office
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th March, 2021) Bavarian prosecutors have arrested a suspect in a corruption case related to the fraudulent scheme to procure protective mask amid the coronavirus pandemic, the national media reported on Thursday, citing the Munich prosecutor's office.
Earlier in March, Der Spiegel reported, citing sources, that prosecutors are investigating five people, including former regional justice chief Alfred Sauter, on suspicion they were bribed to lobby a multimillion euro contact for a textile firm to supply masks to the state health ministry.
According to Die Zeit newspaper, the decision to detain the suspect was made to forestall the risk of escaping or hiding evidence.
While prosecutors are still withholding the person's name, the newspaper indicated that it was neither Sauter nor Georg Nuesslein, the deputy parliamentary leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU).
The mask scandal has delivered a major blow to the CDU/CSU popularity as it coincided with the state elections in Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Wurttemberg, where the parties performed poorly.
