Business with corona masks – Emix affair: did the intermediary launder money in Switzerland? – News

The Munich public prosecutor’s office has accused the intermediary for the mask business of the Zug-based company Emix of tax evasion. She also suspects the woman of having laundered money in Switzerland. The Zurich public prosecutor’s office is therefore conducting investigations and providing legal assistance.

The charges against entrepreneur Andrea Tandler weigh heavily: the Munich public prosecutor’s office accuses her of having evaded taxes equivalent to over 23 million francs. The investigators announced on Tuesday. With commissions from mask shops at the beginning of the corona pandemic, Tandler and her partner, who is also accused, are said to have earned around 50 million francs. The two had arranged the business in Bavaria and other federal states via connections to the governing party CSU. Tandler’s father was once CSU general secretary.

Huge return

Tandler was mandated by the Zug company Emix, which is said to have turned over several hundred million francs with mask shops in Germany and Switzerland. In the spring of 2020, two 25-year-old Zurich entrepreneurs became multi-millionaires within weeks. Due to the lack of protective material, they were temporarily able to sell masks at prices of almost ten francs each.

The Munich public prosecutor’s office did not accuse the Emix managing directors of any criminal acts, they were not listed as suspects in the criminal investigation. A spokeswoman for the company also repeatedly pointed out that preliminary investigations by the Munich public prosecutor’s office into alleged usury had long since been discontinued.

Support from Zurich

Tandler, on the other hand, who ran an advertising agency, is not only accused of tax evasion in Bavaria, she is also suspected of money laundering. This criminal investigation is still ongoing, the Munich public prosecutor states. The public prosecutor’s office of the canton of Zurich was asked for legal assistance because Tandler could have committed this alleged crime in Switzerland. Corresponding investigations are ongoing.

Erich Wenzinger, spokesman for the Zurich public prosecutor’s office, stated at the request of SRF Investigativ that the Munich public prosecutor’s office had requested legal assistance because of the suspicion of money laundering: “This procedure is currently being processed,” says Wenzinger. The presumption of innocence applies to Tandler.

Long detention

Tandler and her partner have been in custody since the end of January. Both reject the allegations made. The investigators justified the fact that the suspects were arrested because of the risk of absconding. They feared that the two accused could have fled to Switzerland. According to the news magazine “Spiegel”, investigators came across an apartment in Davos, which they assigned to the Tandler family.

The criminal proceedings initiated by the Zurich public prosecutor’s office against those responsible for Emix at the beginning of 2021 are still pending. A criminal complaint against the company alleges that Emix sold masks of poor quality at exorbitant prices. The company has always vehemently denied this. It is the presumption of innocence.