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Police in Portugal arrested a doctor who is “suspected of taking part in a fraudulent scheme” by prescribing anti-diabetic drugs to people who didn’t have the disease, for the purpose of losing weight.
In a statement released by the Judicial Police (PJ) following a report by CNN Portugal, helping clients lose weight was the endocrinologist’s “sole purpose of prescribing” blockbuster drugs such as Ozempic, Victoza, and Trulicity.
The outlet said the main suspect is Dr Graça Vargas, who is said to have prescribed more than 65,000 packages to 1,914 people, making her the biggest prescriber of these drugs in Portugal.
According to the PJ, the crimes involved are qualified fraud and computer fraud. As part of this operation, entitled “Obélix,” law enforcement gathered “strong evidence” that two doctors, a lawyer and a medical clinic were involved with the scheme.
By prescribing the drugs to people who are not diabetic and falsifying patient data in the prescription software, the suspects will have caused “damage to the Portuguese state that could amount to around €3 million”.
This occurred through the “payment of co-payment fees” which were thus “fraudulently obtained”.
Reimbursement for this medication from Portugal’s National Health Service (SNS) “can reach 95 per cent of its value” if the patient is “in fact diabetic,” the police statement said.
According to the National Authority of Medicines and Health Products (INFARMED), a Portuguese government watchdog, these medicines have been authorised for patients with “insufficiently controlled” type 2 diabetes. Since 2022, there have been “availability problems” on the market.
These drugs have been widely used in Portugal and elsewhere to promote weight loss and treat obesity.
In addition to the arrest of Vargas, “several search warrants” were also issued in cities across the country, the police said. They targeted the suspects’ homes, a lawyer’s office, accountancy firms, two other companies, and a health clinic, which “everything suggests” are “fronts”.
The detained endocrinologist will now be questioned in court.
The PJ did not respond to a Euronews request for more details on the “Obélix” operation by the time this article was published.