German police investigating 12,000 fake vaccine certificates

By Cuneyt Karadag

BERLIN (AA) – The German police are investigating 12,000 suspected bogus vaccination certificates in the country, local media reported Wednesday.

The German News Agency said an investigation has been launched after fraud related to the 3G (vaccination, testing and recovery) requirement increased in many areas with 12,000 vaccination certificates forged in various states.

It was stated the fraud is widespread on the messaging application Telegram and these certificates can be obtained for €200-300 ($227-340).

It is not possible for the law enforcement agencies to determine the actual number of fake vaccine documents in circulation at the moment, the agency said.

The contract of Markus Anfang, the coach of Werder Bremen, a German second football league team, was terminated and an investigation was launched after it was revealed that he had used a fake vaccination certificate.

The German government has stepped up its vaccination campaign and is planning to administer booster shots to all adults over 18 years of age within a few weeks to curb the spread of the omicron variant of coronavirus.

Some 72.8% of the population have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and nearly 47.6% of them have also received their booster shots as of Tuesday, according to official data.

* Writing by Merve Berker