Five arrested in a new case of fake anti-Covid vaccination in Bihor, Satu Mare

Five people, including two nurses and two registrars, have been detained by the anti-corruption prosecutors today in a case of release of thousands fake vaccination certificates in an anti-COVID vaccination centre opened in Vama Petea (Satu Mare). It is the largest network that forged vaccination certificates detected so far in Romania.

Prosecutors said that the suspects  would have received sums of money ranging from EUR 250 to EUR 300 from the people who wanted to get the green vaccination certificates without getting vaccinated against COVID-19.

The people held in custody in this case there are Daniela-Ioana Hoblea, nurse at the Petea vaccination centre, prosecuted for bribe taking, forgery and IT forgery, Voichița-Camelia Sim, nurse at Bihor Public Health Direction, for aiding and abetting, Marc Ilieș and Horea Buriceanu, both registrars at the Petea vaccination centre, for bribe taking, forgery and IT forgery.

Investigators have found at these people’s houses EUR 127,000, RON 75,000 and 1,000 pounds.

The criminal organized group used to have two modus operandi.

According to DNA, it was either the person interested in obtaining the green certificate who came to the vaccination centre but he/she didn’t take the anti-Covid jab or the interested person didn’t even come to the vaccination centre and she/he only got the vaccination certificate in exchange for a sum of money. The latter was the most operated method.

Several searches took place on Tuesday in Bihor and Satu Mare counties, in a case regarding a new case of fake vaccination. More than 2,000 vaccination certificates have been forged, according to the anti-corruption prosecutors. Police officers conducted raids to 13 addresses, including a public institution.

“Prosecutors from the Oradea National Anti-corruption Directorate are investigating a criminal case targeting suspicions of corruption and forgery, committed by civil servants during 2021, in the context of the anti-Covid vaccination campaign,” the National Anti-corruption Directorater (DNA) announced in a press release.

Searches were conducted in 13 locations, located in Bihor and Satu Mare counties, one of which is the headquarters of a public institution, the rest representing individual homes. According to some sources in the investigation, the targeted institution is a vaccination center in Vama Petea, which reportedly released over 2,000 false certificates of anti-Covid vaccination.

According to PresaSM sources, more than 2,000 certificates were forged at the vaccination center opened at Vama Petea, where vaccinations were made with Johnson & Johnson serum in a single dose.

The network was discovered after COVID-19 patients who arrived at the hospital admitted that, although they had vaccination certificates, they were not vaccinated.

The vaccination center in Vama Petea belongs to DSP and the County Council.