Jan Böhmermann (41) accuses Fynn Kliemann (34) of mask fraud in his program ZDF “Neo Magazin Royale”. The Youtuber is said to have lied about the origin of his fairly produced masks. Kliemann is now commenting on this.
In an interview with «Spiegel» When asked if he’s a scammer, he says, “No, I’m not.” Rather, he presents himself as uninformed about what is happening. He claims that the masks sold through his own website are from Portugal and Serbia.
Kliemann calls himself a “figurehead”
He himself did not trade in the masks that were produced in Bangladesh. But the online retailer About You associated these masks with his name.
Kliemann says: “About You took off the masks from Global Tactics and then put together some logo and wrote my name under it for purposes.”
He describes himself as a “figurehead” who has been celebrated for sourcing masks. He did not resist this and trusted his business partners.
“It was great to be praised by everyone”
However, as the Böhmermann research shows, Fynn Kliemann was involved in numerous emails in Whatsapp conversations about the Bangladesh masks.
Kliemann says to “Spiegel”: “I think I just thought it was great to be in the spotlight and to be praised by everyone.” In the future he only wants to celebrate successes in which he is directly involved.
Kliemann blames the company of his business partner Tom Illbruck (41). Global Tactics, a company that has since been dissolved, was referred to About You by Kliemann. He states that he has only “connected” dealers and buyers.
Kliemann was “taken by surprise”.
Kliemann says about his behavior in 2020: “I should have been more careful. I was just overwhelmed by the amount of calls I got every day.” And further: “Everyone needed masks, I simply forwarded the wishes.”
Kliemann justifies himself for any allegations that the “Spiegel” repeats. This is how he reacts to his statement, which he made in a Whatsapp chat: “Crisis can also be cool.” He says: “A disgusting sentence, totally out of place. He was referring to moments when everything happens at once.”
At least 415,083 euros profit
A total of around 2.3 million masks are said to have been produced around Kliemann. Production costs: the equivalent of around 0.47 centimes. With a purchase of 100 masks, the masks were sold to major customers for the equivalent of around one franc.
In his online shop he even offered the masks for CHF 2.30. Kliemann repeatedly stated that he hardly earned any money from the masks. Compared to the “Spiegel” he now speaks of a “profit before taxes of about 415,083 euros”.
When asked if he expected legal consequences, Kliemann said: “No. I let myself be celebrated. It’s a mistake, but a mistake on a human level.” (eu)