For fake certificates of HIV absence, one may start being imprisoned.

      The State Duma has adopted a bill that provides for criminal liability for forgery, storage, transportation, acquisition, and sale of certificates confirming the absence of socially significant diseases. The document must now be reviewed by the Federation Council, after which it may be submitted for the president's signature.

      The certificates in question confirm the absence of diseases that pose a danger to others. This list includes tuberculosis, HIV infection, hepatitis B and C, as well as sexually transmitted infections.

      According to the bill, forgery of such documents may result in restriction of freedom for up to three years, a fine ranging from 500,000 to 1 million rubles, compulsory labor for up to four years, or imprisonment for up to four years.

      If it concerns the forgery of an official certificate confirming the absence of a dangerous infectious disease, the punishment may be even stricter. In this case, the maximum prison term will be five years, and the fine may reach up to 1.5 million rubles.

      For using the internet, abusing official position, or committing a crime by a group of individuals in collusion, even harsher sanctions are provided—up to six years of imprisonment. If the actions of an organized group lead to mass infections or other serious consequences, the guilty may face four to eight years in a penal colony.

      The authors of the initiative explained that currently such crimes are classified under the article on document forgery. However, according to the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, actual prison sentences under this article are rarely imposed. In most cases, offenders receive fines or restrictions on freedom.

      Deputies believe that forgery of medical documents poses an increased public danger, as such certificates are used for admission to work in educational, medical, and childcare institutions, as well as in the field of migration control. According to parliamentarians, such violations have already led to mass infections with dangerous diseases.