For a long time it remained quiet about the two ‘mask millionaires’. But research by the Tages-Anzeiger brought the two entrepreneurs of Emix Trading AG back into media attention. There are accusations of forgery. The young entrepreneurs from Zurichberg are suspected of supplying false factory certificates with the masks, some of which were counterfeit.
How it all started
In the summer of 2020, authorities in Switzerland, Germany and other European countries learned for the first time how two young Swiss entrepreneurs were selling masks and making millions from them.
At the time, reporting focused mainly on the expensive cars they bought together: a Bentley for 250,000 francs each and a Ferrari for more than 2.5 million francs.
Emix Trading AG
The two entrepreneurs were Luca Steffen and Jascha Rudolphi. Your company: Emix Trading AG, founded in 2016.
They originally made their money by importing soft drinks and cosmetics. They wanted to bypass established supply chains. At the beginning of the Corona crisis, they had the right nose and – as one of the first companies in Europe – invested heavily in protective masks. The two earned between 30 and 100 million each, as Inside Paradeplatz estimated at the time.
The SVP
It soon became known that Steffen and Rudolphi were on the board of the Zurich JSVP until March 2020. This is notable because an SVP national councilor, Franz Grüter, early on demanded “that the Federal Audit Office investigate the purchase of masks by the army pharmacy.” It should not be the case that young people enrich themselves through hardship.
But a little later Grüter qualified his statement: “I am not advocating an investigation into young entrepreneurs. In fact, I congratulate them, they are smart business people.” It is not objectionable to make a profit from the crisis. “They have built a lucrative business, and that is their right,” says Grüter.
The covenant makes itself known
In December 2020, an interview was published with Brigadier General Markus Näf, who justified the purchase of the extremely expensive masks by the army. The army paid up to 9.90 francs per piece for FFP2 masks – notable that the federal government had set an upper limit of 10 francs per piece. The question therefore arose whether the two young entrepreneurs were aware of this.
An army spokeswoman said: “At the very beginning of the army pharmacy tenders to deal with the corona pandemic, it purchased 10 million hygiene masks and 500,000 FFP2 masks from Emix Trading GmbH.”
Poor quality and accusations of usury
In January 2021, it was announced that masks supplied by Emix Trading AG had to undergo an assessment. Half of the masks supplied to the army met the Chinese KN95 standard, the other half consisted of suspected counterfeits of inferior quality, some of which were affected by mold – the Tages-Anzeiger revealed. Costs for the army: almost a million francs.
There was also a report of usury against Emix Trading AG, to which its chairman Peter Ackermann commented: “The purchase price in the country where a mask is manufactured is only a small part of the total costs we incur as a retailer. In addition, there are customs, duties, freight, fixed and other variable costs and export risks. Due to the collapse of supply chains at the beginning of the Corona crisis, logistics costs for all types of freight have exploded.
Ackermann also commented at the time on the allegations of insufficient quality: “The masks supplied by Emix Trading have been quality tested by the army pharmacy. The Army Pharmacy and the DDPS have never complained or doubted the good quality of the masks supplied at any time or in a single case.”
The ‘mask millionaires’ have their say
Also in January 2021, Steffen and Rudolphi – both 23 years old at the time – commented on the various allegations for the first time. “We had a time advantage over everyone else, that was the crucial point,” Steffen said, explaining that they had received the multi-million dollar contracts from the federal government. They would have put all their money into it and reinvested the profits. According to their own statement, they purchased masks from about 100 manufacturers in China, although about 20 percent of the masks there had already been sorted out and destroyed.
They defended themselves against the charge of usury. It was very time-consuming to have goods produced in such large quantities and transported to Europe. They also provided valuable services: “In Italy, thousands of people died, there were almost no masks, that was the situation at the time,” said Rudolphi.
The margin in Switzerland at the time was a maximum of 20 to 30 percent. They also denied allegations that they had sold counterfeit or moldy goods.
It was “a mistake” to invest the money in luxury cars. They no longer have anything to do with the SVP.
The federal public prosecutor’s office is investigating
In January 2022, it was announced that the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office had filed a criminal complaint against unknown persons or against seniors in the DDPS in the context of the purchase of masks. In April 2020, tests made it clear to the DDPS that the masks supplied by Emix Trading AG were defective. They offer little protection. For one type of mask, a quarter of the masks tested in the Spiez laboratory failed. They had a so-called overall fit factor of average 4.6 where a value of 13 would be required. Another mask was no longer considered in the evaluation due to an apparent leak. A different mask type resulted in overall fit factors between 1.6 and 4.1.
Here too, the two young entrepreneurs rejected all allegations and explained: “The respiratory masks supplied by Emix […] were fine, as confirmed by TÜV reports and the VBS as a customer. All allegations to the contrary are unfounded and subject to refutation.”
The Bavarian government becomes clear
In June 2022, the state of Bavaria made the news, which in turn investigated the purchase of masks there and concluded, among other things, that the prices charged by Zurich’s young entrepreneurs were too high “exorbitant” been. The Bavarian investigative committee also wanted to call Steffen and Rudolphi as witnesses. Since the two ignored this, the head of the commission asked Switzerland for legal assistance in the case. However, the VBS believed that it had purchased the masks ‘at market prices’.
New accusations
This weekend the Tages-Anzeiger reported on inconsistencies in mask certificates. In concrete terms, this concerns Type II hygiene masks from the Sword brand. What is explosive is that the manufacturer denies that the masks come from its factory. An independent report also found irregularities in the attached manufacturer certificates, the newspaper continues.
There is currently a criminal case pending at the Zurich Public Prosecutor’s Office on suspicion of usury. A trial in connection with an Emix deal will start in Germany in October. However, there are no proceedings against the ‘mask millionaires’ themselves. However, new details are likely to come to light.
It is the presumption of innocence.
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
