Travel agents suspected of forging HIV certificates on applications for visas to Russia
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The National Bureau of Investigation, Finland’s central criminal police arm, has completed preliminary investigations into suspicions of criminal actions by two Finnish travel agents arranging trips to Russia.
Both companies are thought to have committed economic offences and further that they have forged HIV-certificates on behalf of their visa clients.
In spite of the similarity in the cases, the two firms are not otherwise connected. In each case the evidence has been transferred forward for consideration of charges.
Russian authorities still require a negative HIV certificate from Finns who are seeking a 6-month or 12-month visa to enter the country on multiple occasions.
According to the NBI findings, an Imatra agency specialising in travel to Russia had attached a forged HIV certificate to many of its clients’ visa applications.
Forms from several different laboratories and the signatures of a number of registered persons have been used in the counterfeiting. Some of the forgeries were made by copying the bona fide certificate of another person and switching the names and other details for those of the visa applicant.
Forged HIV certificates are believed to have been attached to hundreds of visa applications filed with Russian consular officials. The travel agency had branches in Imatra, Lappeenranta, Kotka, and Helsinki.
A second travel agency, with offices only in Lappeenranta, is suspected of having forged dozens of HIV certificates in similar fashion.
The bogus documents have used forged statement forms, fake signatures, and forged stamps purporting to be from health centres or certified laboratories.
Helsingin Sanomat
