A judge reopens the investigation into a second mask scam at the Madrid City Council

A court has reopened the case that investigated the alleged scam of a mask supplier to the Madrid City Council. After the identification of the intermediary of the operation, the court reopens the proceedings that had been archived due to the lack of a known perpetrator.

The judge opens a new one in front of the Madrid City Hall and follows the trail of Medina and Luceño's masks

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This possible scam was reflected in a report from the Madrid Municipal Police collected in the summary of the case masks that is followed against the businessmen Luis Medina and Alberto Luceño. A report that pointed to an American commission agent, Phillippe Haim Solomon, who was involved in the sale of half a million masks for 2.5 million euros. The agents detected possible crimes against industrial property, fraud and against consumer rights.

"Both the manufacturers and the importer have offered the masks making indications that do not correspond to them, having generated serious damage both to the Administration and finally to the end users," said that report. That is, the City Council bought other masks other than the ones it had requested under deception. Now Court 3 of the capital has reopened this investigation after having identified the alleged commission agent.

The summary of the mask case reveals that at the end of March 2020, while the city council was managing the purchase of masks with Medina and Luceño, the Madrid City Council bought one million FFP2 masks through Sinclair&Wilde, a New York consultancy. The purchase was made for two and a half million euros. The US consultant stopped responding to the requirements of the City Council when they discovered the possible irregularities.

That same month of May, the Emergency Department begins to investigate whether or not the purchased masks comply with both Spanish and European technical requirements for this type of medical material. The documents issued by the consultant, says the Municipal Police, "have the appearance of truth" but "there are indications to assume that they do not comply with either Spanish or European regulations."

According to the Municipal Police, the report says, a crime of fraud could have been committed by deceiving the Madrid City Council "in the current global pandemic situation, abusing the possible credibility that an importer gives to make the purchase." The documentation provided is not valid and has to do, for example, with cosmetics and not with medical devices. The agents also pointed to a crime against industrial property for having used a European badge without the consent of the European Union. Finally, the report pointed to a third crime against consumers since the masks did not correspond to the standards required by the City Council.

That report pointed directly to Philippe Haim Solomon, who could not be found by Court 30 in Madrid until a few days ago. Now the judge knows that he lives in the UK.