German police moves against fake Covid vax certificates

Police searched the homes of more than 100 people in Bavaria and other states in southern Germany who allegedly obtained false Covid-19 vaccination certificates, local authorities said.

The public prosecutor's office in Augsburg issued orders to the district court to search the homes and take blood samples from a total of around 100 people, Xinhua news agency quoted a police statement as saying.

The background to the searches were investigations against a physician who was involved in "irregularities with Covid-19 vaccinations", the police noted.

Some patients who visited the physician with the intention of receiving Covid-19 vaccination were allegedly given a fake jab without their knowledge, the police said.

Other individuals who visited the physician to "obtain a vaccination certificate without a Covid-19 vaccination" got it under mutual consent, the authorities noted.

Individuals who knowingly received a fake certificate were under investigation for aiding or abetting the issuance of inaccurate health certificates as well as for violating the country's infection control act.