Story By: Ernest Bio Bogore, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency:  Newsflash

One of France’s largest pharmacy wholesale companies has filed a criminal complaint after being scammed into ordering over 6 million EUR of face masks and hand gel in an elaborate web scam.

A judicial investigation for fraud was opened by the public prosecutor’s office in Rouen in the northern French department of Seine-Maritime, after wholesaler Cerp Rouen, working for pharmacies, placed an order of 6.6 million EUR (6.07 million GBP) for hydro-alcoholic gels and protective masks at the beginning of March with a company in Singapore.

According to the police: “The Cerp Rouen company was offered to be restocked with hydro-alcoholic gel and masks. They made a wire transfer via the Internet”.

Reports state that it “turns out it was a shell company. The money is at this stage blocked by the Singapore authorities.”

In a press release, Cerp Rouen, which refers to the incident as a “particularly sophisticated scam”, stated that “the swindlers pretended to be suppliers known to the company by submitting a complete file”.

The release goes on: “Scandalised, the company regrets that people without morality, in France or abroad, do not hesitate to take advantage of the health emergency to the detriment of the public interest in the difficult times that our country is going through.”

The investigation is ongoing.

The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.