SAUDI ARABIA SMASHES FRAUD COVID-19 TESTING, VACCINATION RING AHEAD OF HAJJ

Fri 16 July 2021:

Saudi Arabia has arrested more than 120 people suspected of supplying or procuring fraudulent coronavirus vaccine and test certificates, official media said Thursday, two days before a tightly controlled hajj.

The suspects in the instance of counterfeit certificates are said to have advertised their services on social media which included changing infection status, whether one or two doses had been administered, or vaccination status. Officials from the Ministry of Health are also among the defendants, who have all pled guilty.

This year’s religious pilgrimage will be attended by 60,000 Saudi residents who have received immunisation certificates. This will be the second time the gathering has been drastically reduced because of the pandemic. 

Two health ministry personnel were arrested for illegal services

21 people were accused of serving as middlemen in the fraud, which included nine Saudi citizens and 12 residents. Two health ministry personnel were also among numerous defendants arrested in a similar scheme to manipulate coronavirus data unlawfully, Saudi authorities announced in July. The case has been opened as a criminal inquiry, although the number of suspects has not been revealed.