After a critical TV report by the satirist Jan Böhmermann, the public prosecutor’s office launched an investigation against the influencer Fynn Kliemann. The authority in Stade, Lower Saxony, announced this on Wednesday at the request of the dpa, previously the “Wirtschaftswoche” had reported on it. Among other things, it is being investigated on suspicion of fraud against the musician and businessman in the context of the Böhmermann contribution to controversial business with protective masks. Dpa asked Kliemann for a reaction to the investigation becoming known.
The spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office said about the current status: “The investigations are ongoing.” It will become clear in the course of the proceedings whether there are other suspects. At least one complaint against Kliemann was received. No further details were given as to what the investigation was about. The time horizon for the procedure is also unclear.
Kliemann, who runs an event location near Bremen, and a textile company from North Rhine-Westphalia were criticized in early May for the TV report on ZDF. Kliemann has an online fashion shop (“Oderso”), through which he offers clothing produced in Europe. He maintained business relationships with the textile company Global Tactics.
At the heart of the TV report was the question of whether the textile company’s transactions with a wholesaler in 2020 deliberately kept secret the country of production – masks came from Asia instead of Europe. The allegations also relate to defective masks that were donated to refugees.
Kliemann and the textile company then gradually gave details and explanations about the case, and there was also talk of misunderstandings and mistakes. The case is very small. The influencer also distanced himself from the company and addressed his community on Instagram that he was sorry and that he was cleaning up. According to Kliemann, he used his reputation, his name and free of charge to ensure that masks were quickly organized in Germany at wholesale level during the pandemic.
Kliemann presents himself as a self-made type and free spirit. In addition to his music career, the most famous project is probably the “Kliemannsland”. This is a farm in the Lower Saxony town of Rüspel near Bremen. There he built a kind of adventure playground for adults. There is handicrafts, screwing, music made – you can book workshops. Kliemann is also known for his do-it-yourself clips on YouTube, where he is followed by hundreds of thousands. Kliemann is also a businessman who is involved in companies. (dpa)