site.btaProsecutors Probe Four Healthcare Professionals for Issuing Fake COVID-19 Certificates

Plovdiv, South Central Bulgaria, November 30 (BTA) - The regional prosecution service in Plovdiv opened two pre-trial proceedings against the issuance of fake COVID-19 Green Certificates to non-vaccinated people, Plovdiv regional prosecutor Chavdar Groshev, deputy regional prosecutor Atanas Iliev, and the head of economic police in Plovdiv, Slavcho Aleksiev, told journalists Tuesday.

Searches and confiscations were carried out last week in a private medical centre in the town of Rakovski, and a hospital in the town of Assenovgrad, both in southern Bulgaria. Authorities have confiscated 20,000 filled out declarations of informed consent for vaccination, 12,000 of which were from Rakovski and 8,000 from Assenovgrad.

A total of 250 people were registered as vaccinated in the national vaccination registry, while being abroad at the time of the immunization. They have paid between 200 and 400 leva to middlemen to be listed as vaccinated.

Over the course of around two months, 200 registered as vaccinated in Rakovski and 50 in Assenovgrad, were observed to be abroad at the time of immunization, Groshev specified. It is yet to be discovered if more people are involved in the scheme and if the fake certificates have been used.

Three healthcare professionals from Rakovski and one from Assenovgrad have been detained so far. The supervising prosecutors will decide whether the three doctors and one dentist will be charged with forgery of documents.

Bulgarian legislation envisages imprisonment of up to five years and a fine of 10,000 to 50,000 leva for this type of crime.

Atanas Iliev said that the prosecution service is firmly resolved to fight this type of crime. The investigation continues.
MY/YV