110,000 fake statements Investigations in France against the spread of false health certificates

The health insurance, a branch of the French social security system, counted 41,000 false declarations last week, which prompted Paris to strengthen investigations into the increasingly prevalent forged health permits, and the authorities reported that they had so far opened 400 investigations and arrested more than 100 people.

France is strengthening investigations into the increasingly prevalent fake health permits, and the authorities have reported that they have so far opened 400 investigations and arrested more than 100 people.

According to the Ministry of the Interior, there have been 110,000 forged health permits in France since the approval of this document in the summer.

A network that collected profiles of pharmacists from the website of the National Syndicate of Pharmacists managed to sell between 5,000 and 10,000 fake permits and generated profits of nearly two million euros.

Agence France-Presse learned from a source familiar with the file that the investigation, which is still ongoing, has found an implicated couple who were arrested by the police in early December.

The health insurance, a branch of the French social security system, counted 41,000 false statements last week, and filed lawsuits against 800 people.

"More than 100 people have been arrested as part of 400 ongoing investigations," Interior Minister Gerald Darmannan said Thursday. According to his surroundings, the arrests included using forged permits and trading networks in them.

Investigators have discovered various modus operandi, including the online sale of fake vaccination certificates and the fraudulent use of a third-party QR code. The authorities are also tracking health professionals and administrative agents who provide false permits.

In a statement to Agence France-Presse, the commander of the gendarmerie specializing in cyber investigations, General Marc Puget, said, "We have witnessed a sharp increase in this phenomenon since the summer on social networks, but there has been no increase since the decision was issued not to pay the price of examinations for unvaccinated people."

This team is conducting about 200 investigations into forged health certificates, estimated at 92,000.

The health insurance also participates in investigations by identifying cases of fraud through statistical analysis techniques in the vaccination follow-up database, and analyzes the data (searching and verifying different databases) and using artificial intelligence.

Several "major" electronic investigations are being conducted into the hacking of doctors and pharmacists' accounts, according to the Interior Minister's circles.

"organized crime"

“We are seeing an increasingly complex modus operandi, with scammers modifying the passwords of healthcare professionals remotely, and then creating authorizations in their names,” General Puget explains.

These networks are similar to "organized crime with the presence of guides, accomplices, merchants and criminals who take advantage of the will of some not to vaccinate," according to the general.

In the Hérault region in southern France, investigators have arrested a firefighter and a physiotherapist who will be tried in February for providing certificates of 123 false-negative rapid examinations of about 30 of their relatives.

The forged certificates allowed the 35 beneficiaries to engage in activities and "recreation trips".

The firefighter used the IDs of a physiotherapist from Montpellier, the capital of Hérault, to obtain certificates from the website dedicated to the Department of Examinations Certification of the Fire and Rescue Service.

Using a forged document is a crime that carries a penalty of up to three years in prison and a fine of €45,000. As for disciplinary measures, it can reach a final ban from practicing the profession, according to the health insurance.

In the Paris region, a doctor was arrested in late November, suspected of selling at least 220 fake health certificates for 1,000 euros each, according to the public prosecutor in Creteil.

Health Minister Olivier Veran warned that "if a health professional engages in corruption by providing a false health declaration to patients, it is criminal behaviour, and I hope justice will do its duty with the greatest firmness."

Newsweek: Putin fears Turkish drones in Ukraine more than US weapons

The American magazine Newsweek said in a report published on Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin fears the Turkish drones obtained by Ukraine more than he fears American weapons, which prompted him to personally talk about Bayraktar's planes with Turkish President Recep 

Despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's condemnation of the continued flow of US military aid to Ukraine, a fleet of combat drones Ukraine has acquired from another NATO member (Turkey) threatens to tip the tide of the war in Kiev's favour, according to Newsweek.

A report published by the magazine on Friday said that the Turkish "Bayraktar TB2" drones threaten to divert the course of the war in favor of Ukraine against Russia.

While neither Turkey nor Ukraine has revealed the exact number of Turkish "Bayraktar TP2" drones sold to the latter, reports indicate that the number is higher than previously thought.

This infuriated Moscow, as Putin, in a call with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on December 3, warned against the use of Turkish drones by the Ukrainian army.

The Ukrainian army had used a Turkish-made drone at the end of last October to target the "Howitzer D-30" cannon against pro-Russian separatists.

The magazine notes that the Turkish Bayraktar plane has already shown an impressive track record in eliminating forces allied with Russia in Libya, Syria and the Karabakh war, and the weapon proved to be particularly decisive in Azerbaijan's war against Armenia.

While the drone's lethal capability is now well known, direct Russian intervention in Ukraine will prove a new test of the weapon that is now at the center of escalating border tensions between the two foes.

The magazine's report quotes Michael Kaufman, director of the research program at the Russia Studies Program, that "Turkish drones have proven their effectiveness, especially with their low cost."

Bayraktar TB2 is the fruit of Ankara's efforts since the 1980s to become a major force in the field of weapons manufacturing.

"There are many Turkish private companies and public institutions that are currently working on the production of high-tech military equipment," the Turkish embassy in Washington told NEWSWEEK. “We now have the national technologies that enable us to successfully eliminate many external threats through local and national production and place us among the growing exporters of military equipment.”

"These highly advanced systems, especially drones, have proven their performance and efficiency in various operational theaters," the embassy added.

In Libya, Turkish drones helped repel an attack launched in 2019 by the forces of putschist Khalifa Haftar against the internationally recognized, Turkey-backed government in Tripoli.