A judge decided last month that the money must be repaid to the government, the AD writes today.
3 euros per face mask
According to the newspaper, it concerns the company O2 Health from Heerhugowaard in North Holland, which promised 18 million FFP2 face masks for healthcare workers at the start of the corona crisis. Normally, the company specializes in air quality equipment, but in 2020 it also focused on face masks.
The government promised an amount of 56 million euros (more than 3 euros per face mask) and made a down payment of 45 million euros. However, the company was not yet able to deliver 8 million face masks. Random checks by the RIVM showed that the face masks that did arrive here were not of good quality.
Agreement dissolved
That is why the government dissolved the agreement a year and a half ago and asked the company to repay 43 million euros, the AD writes. For the company this means bankruptcy, but a judge decided at the end of last month that payment must still be made. In terms of content, O2 Health does not want to comment on the matter to the newspaper.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Health promises “appropriate action” to get the tens of millions back. This is the only lawsuit currently pending due to rejected or non-delivery of face masks during the corona crisis.
Mouth cap deal Van Lienden
The case is reminiscent of the controversial face mask deal that Sywert van Lienden concluded with the Ministry of Health. The deal was worth 100 million euros. Of this, 30 million euros went to van Lienden and his two business partners as profit.
The money never came back and legal proceedings have not yet started, although the minister has promised to recover the damage.
