Politician's daughter Tandler must serve more than four years in prison
When masks were scarce in Germany, Andrea Tandler's time had come: through the contacts of her father, a well-known ex-CSU politician, she brokered the scarce goods to the federal government and several federal states. However, she did not pay the correct taxes on the millions in profits. Now the verdict has been reached in Munich.
The politician's daughter and businesswoman Andrea Tandler has been sentenced to four years and five months in prison for tax evasion in the coronavirus mask scandal. Her co-defendant business partner N. was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison by the Munich I Regional Court.
This was preceded by a plea bargain between the court and the parties to the proceedings. The public prosecutor's office had then demanded sentences at the upper end of the range proposed by the court, which would have been four years and nine months for Tandler and four years for N..
The defense lawyers, on the other hand, had pleaded for sentences at the lower end of the range, which would have been four years and three months for Tandler and three years and six months for N. Tandler is the daughter of former CSU General Secretary and former Bavarian Finance, Economics and Interior Minister Gerold Tandler.
Company headquarters relocated for tax savings
At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Tandler brokered deals with various federal and state authorities on behalf of a Swiss mask supplier. Commission payments of almost 50 million euros were made for this - which is legal in itself. Both have now been convicted because they did not pay tax on the commissions correctly and were therefore liable to prosecution. At the end of the trial, the public prosecutor's office had estimated the total economic loss at 7.8 million euros.
In the end, the two defendants largely admitted the tax evasion charges against them through their defense lawyers, specifically the charges of income and trade tax evasion.
Among other things, they did not pay tax on the income from the mask business in Munich, but in Grünwald - where only around half of the trade tax is due compared to the state capital. However, Munich was the "place of management" at the time. In addition, they have since paid the tax loss incurred. The proceedings regarding evasion of gift tax and coronavirus subsidy fraud were discontinued by the court on Tuesday.
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Following the scandal, Andrea Tandler and her business partner were required to wear FFP2 masks during their prison sentences, as a precautionary measure due to the ongoing pandemic. The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) has been notified of the case, emphasizing the global nature of tax evasion. Despite her father's political connections as a former CSU General Secretary and Finance Minister, Andrea Tandler will still be required to wear her Protective masks in prison.
Source: www.ntv.de
