The European Police Agency Europol announced that it foiled a multi-million dollar fraud aimed at concluding a fake deal to sell masks to the German health authorities with the outbreak of the Coronavirus.
Europol revealed that the German government contracted two companies in mid-March, to buy masks worth 15 million euros, at a time when the global stock of this product was declining.
After the two companies failed to make a deal online via a website registered in Spain, they were referred to a trusted customer in Ireland.
The Irish broker promised that the two German companies would be connected to another supplier able to secure the order, but this time in the Netherlands, according to Europol.
A preliminary agreement was signed whereby the two companies paid 1.5 million euros to buy 1.5 million mouth masks.
The buyers have transferred money to Ireland and are preparing to receive the shipment, which includes police escort of the trucks that carry the masks from a warehouse in the Netherlands to the delivery point in Germany, Europol added.
However, before the delivery date, criminals said they needed another 800,000 euros in order to secure the goods.
Again, the two companies transferred the required amount, but the masks did not arrive.
It turned out that the Dutch company exists, but its website has been copied, and there were no official records of the order, said Europol.
Police, including Europol and INTERPOL, quickly rushed to recover the money.
The Irish Police Crime Office, based on INTERPOL information, froze € 1.5 million with an Irish bank account, and identified an Irish company involved.
The Dutch Financial Intelligence Service tracked the 800,000 euros of which 500,000 were transferred to a bank account in Britain that was also being transferred to another account in Nigeria.
Thanks to a signal from investigators, the Bank of England managed to recover the full amount, and the money was completely transferred to the Netherlands, where it was frozen.
According to Europol, the Dutch police have arrested two suspects in this case and an investigation is still ongoing.
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