Spanish anti-corruption agents are investigating the alleged fraud of €4 million from the Canarian Health Service (SCS). The fraud relates to a company that failed to provide a million 3M FFP3 face masks to the health service during the lockdown of 2020.
The company, RR7 United SL, is based in Gran Canaria and, until the pandemic, was engaged in the purchase and sale of vehicles. In May 2020, the SCS ordered a million masks from the company, paying a sum of €4 million in advance. The masks that arrived turned out to be unfit for purpose and had to be destroyed.
RR7 paid more than €2.5 million to a Ihsan Mahmhoud Mohamed in late 2020, as well as €25,000 commission to a José Lucas Cruz, who had engineered the deal.
When the masks arrived to the Canaries ,in March 2021, the 3M company warned that they were fakes and that a crime could be committed if they were released to the public.
The Canarian Helath Service are seeking the repayment of the money from RR7, while RR7 claim that they were provided with fake products by the supplier. The supplier, Mahmhoud Mohamed, claims that the products supplied were those ordered, but these masks were not yet standardised for the European market.
The anti-corruption department is investigating all parties, including the health service itself, for possible fraud and misuse of public funds.
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