Former Bank of Latvia governor sentenced to community service for buying false Covid-19 vaccine certificate

RIGA - The Riga City Vidzeme District Court on Monday sentenced former Bank of Latvia governor Ilmars Rimsevics to 350 hours of community service for obtaining a fake Covid-19 vaccination certificate, LETA learned. 

The parties in the case have ten days to apply in writing to the court for a full judgment to be prepared. Rimsevics will then be able to appeal the ruling to the Riga Regional Court.

The prosecutor's office, without disclosing the name of the accused, informed previously that the man was charged with handing over a bribe to a person in order to obtain a Covid-19 vaccination certificate without getting jabbed, and for using the fake certificate.

The suspect used a go-between to give EUR 400 to another person authorized to perform state-funded vaccination and register the fact of immunization. That person entered into the e-health system false information about vaccination against Covid-19 that actually never took place. As a result, the unvaccinated suspect received a vaccination certificate, and being aware that it was fake, used it to freely move around during the pandemic.