Mask affair: That’s how much money the mask deals made

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A textile company is said to have taken in around 200 million euros – with the help of two CSU MPs. The size of the business explains the horrendous commissions.

Apart from the criminal and moral components, the dubious mask business of politicians also sheds light on how much money can actually be made with lobbying. At first glance it may seem grotesque that Alfred Sauter and Georg Nüßlein have received or should collect 1.2 million euros each for an activity that is quite manageable in terms of effort. Especially in light of the fact that three other brokers were involved in the deals, to whom seven-figure sums have apparently also been promised. But for the Hessian mask manufacturer, this high investment was still worth it.

Around 55 million masks were delivered to the state

According to research by our editorial team, the company, to which the Bundestag member Nüßlein is said to have placed government contracts, sold around 55 million masks to various ministries and authorities. The unit price was accordingly between 3.70 and 3.80 euros. In view of the total volume of more than 200 million euros, this also explains the high commission payments of a total of five to six million euros to the helpers in the background. The member of the state parliament, Sauter, has himself confirmed that, in his function as a lawyer, he has drawn up the contract for at least one of the deals.

It was about a deal with the Bavarian Ministry of Health. The investigators do not believe that this achievement alone should have been worth 1.2 million euros. In any case, such a sum can hardly be explained by a lawyer’s fee. It cannot be ruled out that the former Bavarian Minister of Justice was also involved in initiating the deal. From a legal point of view, the main question is whether he has used his status as a member of parliament to get a business going, from which he has in turn made money as a lawyer.

At the beginning of the investigation, the 70-year-old admitted that he had received an additional “amount of money” over and above the fee for his legal work. According to Sauter’s account, he wanted to donate this money after deducting all taxes from the start. A donation has actually been received by a Günzburger foundation. However, only on March 8th, when the raids at Nüßlein and in the Günzburg CSU district association had long since taken place and Sauter had already been targeted by the investigators. Apart from that, the question remains why the money had to take such nebulous detours via Liechtenstein, the Caribbean and a company that belongs to Sauter’s family and is managed in trust by his Günzburg party friend Manfred Krautkrämer, when Sauter planned to pay taxes on it anyway and a good one Purpose to supply.

A commission of 1.2 million euros should go to Alfred Sauter and Georg Nüßlein in the mask affair

The other four brokers did not receive the commission, or at least not in full, after the Liechtenstein financial supervisory authority had suspected it. The principality wants to get rid of its reputation as a tax haven and playground for people who want to launder money or make it disappear. That was Nüßlein ‘s undoing. He received 660,000 euros, but such a high payment to a member of parliament struck the bank as strange. Further transfers were stopped, instead the German judiciary received a tip from the Liechtenstein colleagues – this started the mask affair.

Actually, Nüßlein should also have received 1.2 million euros. If you put that in relation to the 10,083.47 euros in compensation that he receives every month as a member of parliament, it was a profitable business – but morally questionable and possibly also punishable.

Who played what role in the 200 million euro deal and what became of the remaining money that got stuck in Liechtenstein is still part of the investigation. It could still be in the accounts of the lobbyist and ex-manager Thomas Limberger, who is said to have passed the commissions on to Nüßlein and Sauter via a complicated network of companies. He himself is now under suspicion of bribery and is one of the five suspects in the spectacular trial.

What will happen to Alfred Sauter’s donation?

Our research and the investigations by the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office already show how much money could be made at the beginning of the pandemic by trading medical protective equipment that was urgently needed at the time. But they also show how safe lobbyists and MPs must have felt. Sauter considers the suspicion against himself to be “adventurous” to this day.

Whether the Günzburg community foundation – which, by the way, he co-founded and whose chairman of the board of trustees is party friend Krautkrämer – is allowed to keep the donation of 470,000 euros appears to be questionable. Krautkrämer, who is also listed as a suspect in the proceedings, already has an idea. He now wrote to the foundation: “If the community foundation refuses to accept the donation due to the overall circumstances, my clients have no problem with the donation being transferred back to the account from which it came. You will then decide on a different use. ”Only: The Public Prosecutor’s Office will probably want to have a say.

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