Two people have been charged over the creation and sale of fake Covid-19 vaccination records during the pandemic.
Waqas Hanif, 26, and Touqir Nasir, 29, will appear at Luton magistrates’ court on Thursday. They were charged in relation to alleged offences under the Computer Misuse Act and Fraud Act, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.
A joint investigation, carried out by the NCA and NHS England, found almost 2,000 fraudulent records at a health centre in Luton between June and October 2021.
Investigators also seized £145,000 in cash from a safety deposit box in the town, the NCA added.
During the pandemic, unvaccinated individuals reportedly paid for legitimate vaccine passport records obtained illegally from online marketplaces so they could travel when others were subject to restrictions.
Paul Foster, head of the NCA’s national cyber crime unit, said: “Receiving a vaccine is a matter of individual choice. However, abusing our healthcare system to facilitate unvaccinated individuals to bypass restrictions that are in place to protect the British public is illegal.
“Working closely with the NHS England Counter Fraud Team, this investigation has helped to secure the safety of our communities by preventing organised criminals from further undermining the national pandemic response and benefiting financially from the damaging service they provided.”
Hanif, of Sherwood Road, Luton, was arrested by NCA officers in January 2022, and Nasir, of Runley Road, Luton, attended a voluntary interview in March 2022, the NCA said.
Hanif and Nasir have both been charged with conspiracy to unauthorised computer access with intent to commit other offences, enter into/concerned in acquisition/retention/use or control criminal property and conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.
Hanif has also been charged with acquire/use/possess criminal property.
