The Luxembourg Army will now request criminal records from any external contractors, following a scandal in late 2022 which led to a convicted physician being briefly hired.
The CSV submitted a parliamentary question to the Ministry of Defence on the matter, after it was reported by the Luxemburger Wort that a Belgian physician was hired by the army last year despite being convicted for fraud and tax evasion in his home country.
The doctor was said to have issued false Covid vaccination certificates on 2,020 occasions to people who had not received the jabs, as well as being convicted of fraud, forgery and tax evasion in a separate case.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed the doctor had signed a service contract with the army on 22 November 2022. He then carried out consultations for eight hours each on 1st and 6th of December, at the Häreberg base. On 8 December, the army discovered that he had been previously convicted and was awaiting trial for issuing false Covid certificates. On the same day, the doctor was informed that the army would no longer require his services, his access to the site was rescinded and he was escorted out.
It later transpired that his previous convictions had not been included in his criminal record due to Belgian procedures. The man's contract was terminated on 10 January 2023. All medical certificates issued by the man in question at the Häreberg base were subsequently checked and found to be without irregularities.
