230 people suspected of peddling fake Covid vaccine certificates in Poland

Prosecutors have identified 230 people suspected of being involved in falsely producing COVID-19 vaccination certificates as part of three criminal groups operating in the cities of Warsaw, Lublin and Zamość.

The two main suspects in the case have each been charged with over 300 and 500 crimes respectively, while 14 individuals are being held in pretrial detention. Assets belonging to them – valued at more than 3.2 million zloty (€710,000) and including gold bars, silver coins and large sums in cash – have also been secured.

“Evidence obtained in the course of the investigation made it possible to establish that, during the period of the greatest epidemiological risk related to the spread of COVID-19, it was possible to buy a certificate of having had a protective vaccination, despite not having received the jab,” announced prosecutors.

The suspects are accused of crimes including falsifying documents – for example, the questionnaires filled out before a vaccine is supposed to be administered – and of defrauding the National Health Fund (NFZ), which finances public healthcare in Poland.

The offences under investigation are punishable by between one and 10 years in prison.

Prosecutors also announced that people who have purchased such false certificates can avoid punishment if they cooperate with law enforcement under so-called “active remorse,” a provision allowing the perpetrators of certain offences to be exempted from punishment.

“The IT system recording data on vaccinations and the evidence obtained in the investigation make it possible to identify the majority of people who, despite having obtained a vaccination record, did not receive the vaccine,” they revealed, suggesting that such people report themselves to the police.

In a separate case last month, police in the city of Kraków apprehended ten people suspected of being involved in forging around 4,000 Covid vaccine certificates and obtaining financial benefit of approximately 4 million zloty (€890,000).

Surveys around the time of the introduction of Covid vaccines showed that Poland had one of Europe’s highest proportions of people reluctant to get the jab. Subsequently, the country had one of the EU’s lowest vaccination rates, with around 57% fully vaccinated compared to the EU-wide figure of 73%.

Main image credit: Nataliya Vaitkevich / Pexels

Alicja Ptak

Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.