Two arrested for stealing €900,000 in medical mask-related fraud

The FIOD, the Tax Authority's investigative department, arrested two men on Monday on suspicion of stealing 900 thousand euros in a scam involving medical masks. The 51-year-old man from Oldenzaal and a 61-year-old man from Amersfoort posed as suppliers of protective equipment and "sold" 11 million nonexistent medical masks to two buyers, FIOD said in a statement.

The two buyers paid 900 thousand euros for the masks, which they never received. The payment was made into the account of a company belonging to one of the suspects. The amount was quickly withdrawn or transferred to other bank accounts, both abroad and in the Netherlands, FIOD said.

The authorities believe that the two suspects played an important role in this scam. They were arrested on suspicion of fraud, money laundering and forgery. FIOD searched a commercial property in Oldenzaal and a home in Amersfoort as part of the investigation. Bank accounts, phones, digital administration, and documents were seized for further investigation.