Ministry of Internal Affairs building in Tbilisi

(Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–Police in Georgia have detained four fake priests who apparently falsified documents in order to get visa for the Schengen area.

The young men are accused of forging documents that make them out to be clerics in the influential Georgian Church. They presented their documents at the German consulate in Tbilisi.

The four, who are 23, 24, 25 and 26 years old, were detained by unit of the police tasked with fighting organized crime.

They are charged with forging documents, a violation of the Criminal Code which may be punished by a fine or up to 3 years of custody.

According to a statement by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the four were disguised as church leaders, from different churches, of the level prior or above and indicated as having monthly income ranging between 900 to 1,300 laris (USD 430 to 600) from donations of their parish.

The Georgian Church which, according to many studies, wield immense influence in the country also runs churches in Europe and North America, serving the Georgian diaspora.