The Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) is handing over the review of mask procurement under former Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) into new hands.

The lawyer Lippold von Bredow is to lead a corresponding working group in the future, writes the "Tagesspiegel" with reference to budget circles. The CDU member previously served as a Ministerial Councillor in the Bundestag administration, where von Bredow headed the secretariat of the Budget Committee.

The Green Party has sharply criticized the appointment. "If it's true that von Bredow is moving to the Federal Ministry of Health, the CDU's cronies wouldn't even try to hide," Paula Piechotta, the budget officer responsible for the health budget, told the "Tagesspiegel" newspaper. She sees the potential move as a sign "that all levers are being pulled to put an end to the mask scandal." The head of the secretariat knows the Budget Committee inside and out, Piechotta said. He should now incorporate this knowledge into the mask deals working group in the Ministry of Health – "very likely to slow down the real investigation as much as possible," Piechotta said. However, top official Lippold von Bredow had only recently moved from the Economic Affairs Committee to head the Budget Committee's secretariat.