Petersburg initiated 50 cases of falsification of tests and vaccine certificates
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the St. Petersburg police have opened more than 50 cases of falsifying PCR tests and vaccination certificates against CORONAVIRUS infection. Several cases are being prepared for submission to COURT, others are still under investigation, the press service of the police headquarters told Fontanka.
Law enforcement officers specified that if last year there were few such cases (and it was about fake PCR tests), then in this year more and more cases began to be initiated after the discovery of fake vaccination certificates.
Recall that the holders of fictitious certificates are subject to criminal prosecution in accordance with Article 327 of the Criminal Code (forgery, production or circulation of forged documents, state awards, stamps, seals or letterheads). For the purchase and possession of a fake certificate, they face up to one year in prison. The organizers of the criminal scheme for obtaining certificates may face up to two years in prison if their actions qualify under Part 1 of Art. 327 of the Criminal Code (production and sale of false documents).
The initiation of criminal cases related to the forgery of "antique" documents was reported earlier in the press service of the federal Ministry of Internal Affairs. For example, in just one week in October, police officers opened 14 cases of falsified coronavirus vaccination certificates, QR codes, PCR test results, medical certificates that provide exemption from vaccination or indicate the presence of a high amount of antibodies in the body. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, within a week, the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs identified 26 people who forged documents, and identified 216 Internet resources through which these documents were distributed. In total, in the second half of 2021, police officers opened 503 criminal cases, discovered 293 scammers, and blocked 2,036 Internet sites selling fake certificates and certificates about covid-19.
On October 26, due to the forgery of certificates of vaccination against coronavirus, the HEAD physician of the Shkotovskaya Central District Hospital in Primorye was fired. The press service of the regional department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that hospital employees received remuneration for falsifying vaccination certificates. The St. Petersburg media also wrote about cases of detention of sellers of fake medical documents. For example, in June of this year, police officers in the Kalininsky district stopped a man who had a scattering of fake medical documents, including negative PCR tests, in his trunk, Fontanka reports.