From government stock seizures to sales to the highest bidder on airport tarmacs, the hunt for face masks amid the coronavirus outbreak has become a global free-for-all where the rules of fair play no longer apply.
Officials worldwide were caught short by the crisis with most countries unable to manufacture the millions of masks needed every day for health workers alone.
So nearly everyone is turning to China and other Asian producers, and some players are doing whatever it takes to get their hands on the coveted stocks.
"Procurement markets for COVID-19 supplies are collapsing, and the traditional means of competition and transparency are really not being used," Christopher Yukins, a law professor at George Washington University said during a videoconference Thursday.
Even among Western countries that are nominally allies, accusations of unscrupulous behaviour have underscored the mounting anxiety over mask shortages.
The president of the Ile-de-France region encompassing Paris, Valerie Pecresse, said this week that a shipment of masks ordered for her hard-hit department was snatched at the last minute by "Americans who made a higher bid".
"The Americans pay cash sight unseen, which obviously can be more tempting for people just looking to make money off the entire world's distress," she said. Pecresse offered no details on the purported American buyers, but officials in at least two other French regions also claimed US buyers swept in to acquire their