Coronavirus: New remand for GP linked to fake vaccination cards

A 53-year-old Larnaca-based doctor was remanded for another five days on Saturday on suspicion of issuing fake Covid vaccination certificates to his patients.

Larnaca district court remanded the doctor for eight days earlier this month, which expired on Saturday.

Police had requested a further six-day remand, while the defendant’s lawyer argued that three days were enough to complete the investigations. In the end, the judge renewed the remand for another five days.

The general practitioner is faced with charges related to conspiracy to commit a crime, forgery of an official document, circulation of a forged document, ensuring registration with false representations, negligent acts that cause bodily harm and violations of the general health system (Gesy).

The case is “extremely serious” the court heard on Saturday.

So far, 27 statements were given to the police from family and friends of two patients of the doctor, who are currently intubated with coronavirus, one in Famagusta and the other in Nicosia.

Statements were also taken by the health professionals who treated the patients at the hospitals, the Cyprus medical association as well as officials from the Health Insurance Organisation (HIO) and the national health scheme Gesy.

The doctor, who is registered with Gesy as a GP, was arrested at his home in Aradippou on August 6 after the father of one of his patients reported his son had been issued a vaccination certificate without receiving the two doses of AstraZeneca from the GP.

The patients, aged 41, was intubated in ICU earlier that week with coronavirus.

His father reported the incident after he was informed by hospital staff that his son confessed he had not received the jab, despite being registered in the Gesy system as fully vaccinated.

The doctor denied his accusations. He is listed as having administered coronavirus vaccines to 102 people, 47 of whom also gave statements to the police.

During investigations, police found in the suspect’s home and office various documents and boxes with glass bottles containing a liquid.

The bottles were sent for testing and results are expected from the state laboratory.

Police were also granted permission to access the doctor’s bank accounts as there is information that he was being paid to issue the fake vaccination certificates.

However no such evidence has emerged so far, police told the judge.

The mobile phone and personal computer of the suspect are also being examined by the police.

Blood samples will be taken from 14 of his patients who are registered as vaccinated to determine whether they have had the jab or not.

Police are also investigating two more doctors, one in Paphos and one in Limassol, who are suspected of issuing fake vaccination certificates.

A man is also being sought who presented himself as a doctor and supposedly administered a Covid vaccine to a woman at his house who found out later she was not on the ministry’s registry.