Important step forward in the investigation into the shortages in the supply of surgical masks, Ffp2 and Ffp3 distributed in March 2020 to doctors, nurses and healthcare personnel in Sardinia.

The Guardia di Finanza of Cagliari, on the orders of the investigating judge Manuela Anzani, has seized movable and immovable property for over 10 million euros from Renato De Martin, 61 years old from Reggio Calabria, and from the company Demar Hospital of which the entrepreneur is the sole director.

Inadequate devices

About two million and 700 thousand personal protective equipment considered by the Prosecutor's Office to be completely inadequate and lacking the minimum requirements suitable to protect against the virus put under lock and key by the men of the Economic and Financial Police Unit in October a year ago at the start of the investigation, when the investigators accused De Martin for the sole fraud in public supplies: in March 2020 the company had won the tender for the delivery of four million masks for a total amount of 18 million euros including VAT, but still as of May 27 1,244,200 pieces were missing.

In the end, the Region had paid € 10,862,620 for the 2.7 million devices which, according to the military and investigators, lacked the "requirements" of the law and therefore not salable. For some lots there was no technical certification attesting to its effectiveness, for others the documentation was not complete. There were also false claims reported on personal protective equipment.

The kidnapping

Now the investigation takes a further step forward and the prosecutor also challenges De Martin and the company for the scam, which allows them to proceed with the seizure for equivalent of cash, real estate, current accounts, company shares and everything useful to get to the sum indicated. The entrepreneur a year ago was considered "unscrupulous" by the investigating judge for the way in which he would have taken advantage of "the urgent need of the Region to find on the market" material that the 61-year-old from Reggio "knew well to be unsuitable for its intended use, with the consequent risks to citizens' health.