A Chinese government-backed company drained the Australian supplies of Personal Protective Equipment including masks to China amid the coronavirus outbreak in January and February.
The Greenland Group, which manages high-end real estate projects in Sydney and Melbourne, facilitated the transport of masks, hand sanitizer, antibacterial wipes, and essential medical supplies to China, The Chronicle reported.
Though the bulk supplies to China were not illegal, the equipment which was delivered included the items that have been in short supply for Australian citizens as well as health professionals.
Three million surgical masks, 500,000 pairs of gloves and bulk supplies of sanitizer and wipes were bought up in Australia and other countries where Greenland operates.
According to The Chronicle, As coronavirus locked down Wuhan, the company put its normal work on hold and instructed staff in Australia, Canada, Turkey and elsewhere to source supplies.
They were accumulated at Greenland's Sydney headquarters and sent to China over weeks in January and February.
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Greenland deployed its HR staff members, contract managers, and others away from their desks to go out and amass as many of the items as possible.
Coronavirus which emerged in China has so far claimed the lives of 30,000 lives. Before spreading to the world, the coronavirus became epidemic in China claimed over 3,500 lives in the country.