As European countries face delivery delays and desperate to procure more doses, scammers seem to see an opportunity to make a quick buck.
In a statement published on Monday, the European Anti-Fraud Office (Olaf) warns: alleged intermediaries have tried to sell a billion doses of vaccine to Europe which, in reality, did not exist.
All for a value of around 14 billion euros.
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Ville Itälä, general manager of Olaf, specifies in a press release that this type of fraud can take several forms: “
for example, fraudsters can offer large quantities of vaccines, deliver a sample to receive the advance payment then disappear with the money.
They can also claim to represent legitimate intermediaries and have access to vaccines
”.
These practices are attributable to professional criminals but also to opportunistic individuals.
The risk is that some of these frauds are credible enough for fake vaccines to reach the European market.
Indeed, the slowness of vaccine delivery leads some Member States to believe that it may be faster and more efficient to negotiate and order doses themselves.
“
OLAF has stepped up its investigation, which is already underway concerning fake products aimed at combating the coronavirus (...).
The objective is now to be able to deal with the illegal trade in vaccines against the coronavirus, in particular when it comes to counterfeits,
”Ville Itälä further indicates.
Scattered purchases
Already at the end of December, Europol warned against upcoming scams concerning vaccines, a new financial windfall born with the coronavirus crisis.
During the first confinement, such trafficking had already been observed around protective masks, the demand for which had then exploded.
The European authorities are currently investigating a supply of vaccines sent to Veneto (Italy) by anonymous intermediaries.
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The European countries are more and more tempted to stand apart to order doses.
Recall that as of February 28, 4.4% of the French population and 4.8% of the population of the European Union had received at least one dose of vaccine.
France itself does not exclude supplying itself outside the framework of the European agreements.
"
If vaccine doses were to become available, the instructions are clear: France would buy it immediately,
" said Jean Castex.
The New York Times further recalls that Hungary itself has approved Russian and Chinese vaccines and that the Czech Republic and Slovakia are planning to do the same without waiting for European authorization.
These scattered purchases represent, for crooks, so many opportunities to sell false doses.
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