Three fined €800 for fake COVID-19 test certificates

Three airline passengers have been fined €800 for obtaining and presenting fake COVID-19 test certificates in an attempt to fly out of Malta earlier on Sunday.

A Moscow-born couple, Nuder Man and Gallis Geb Miklina, were stopped by authorities at Malta International Airport after presenting false documentation for their 9am flight on Turkish Airlines.

They were arrested and arraigned in court, and later pleaded guilty to forging a declaration to authorities and using a false document.

According to the couple, they were only made aware of the airline's COVID-19 test procedure at too late a stage to obtain a negative swab test themselves, thus opting for falsified certificates instead.

After admitting to the crime, Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit fined the pair €800 each.

In a separate incident, French national Sayn Gullayme Julies Pierre ended up in a similar situation after his swab test result failed to arrive in time for his flight. 

He too pleaded guilty, and was fined €800.

Inspector Frankie Sammut prosecuted, and lawyer Charmaine Cherrett was defence counsel.