German Federal Court Overturns Nuremberg Mask Fraud Verdict

Germany’s Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof) has set aside the acquittals of two men from the Oberpfalz region in a case concerning the large‑scale import of COVID‑19 protective masks. The men had imported masks from China during the pandemic and sold many of them to the Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL), though the quality of the masks was unclear.

The court found that the lower court in Nuremberg‑Fürth had inadequately assessed the evidence, prompting a reopening of the case. One of the defendants – a local Free Voters politician – was previously fined €2,500 for forging a stamp and signature of an EU representative. Bavaria’s Economy Minister Hubert Aiwanger testified during the original trial. The prosecutor’s appeal succeeded, and the revision will be heard by a different chamber of the Nuremberg district court.