Confidential COVID-19 Insights Shared with Entrepreneur René Benko

During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, significant information regarding potential lockdown measures was exchanged between then Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn and Austrian entrepreneur René Benko. In April 2020, Spahn communicated with Benko concerning the reopening strategies for large retail stores, as reported by multiple Austrian and German media outlets.

This correspondence followed a previous email from Benko, who, at the time, was advocating for the reopening of large department stores through a report he commissioned. According to sources, shortly after this exchange, Spahn publicly expressed skepticism about a regulation agreed upon by Chancellor Angela Merkel and the heads of Germany's states, which permitted only shops under 800 square meters to operate during the lockdown. Spahn questioned the rationale behind the size limitation, highlighting public confusion about why a store slightly exceeding that size could not open.

On May 6, 2020, Merkel and state leaders agreed on a series of measures to ease restrictions, allowing all stores to reopen under specific hygiene protocols and crowd control measures. Spahn participated in the discussions during Corona conferences with state leaders, which included directives to limit the number of customers based on store size.

On the same day of these decisions, Spahn sent Benko a confidential email with the draft resolution for the conference attached, indicating that this reopening plan was likely anticipated by Benko.

A spokesperson for Spahn commented that the relationship between Spahn and the former Galeria CEO stemmed from Benko's commission of a hygiene study by a professor from Bonn. The two had known each other since Spahn's early days as a member of parliament. The spokesperson also mentioned that drafts of resolutions typically circulated among relevant stakeholders in advance, and that communication with representatives from affected industries was standard practice during such extraordinary circumstances to assess various situations, including hygiene protocols.

Currently, Benko is in custody in Vienna facing criminal investigations in both Austria and Germany. Meanwhile, Spahn is engaged in coalition negotiations in Berlin, and his spokesperson confirmed that there has been no contact between Spahn and Benko for several years.