An organized criminal group, involved in the export of dual-use goods from Bulgaria to the Russian Federation in violation of sanctions imposed by the EU in connection with the war in Ukraine, was detected and neutralized during a specialized operation under the supervision of Plovdiv District Prosecutor's Office, jointly with the State Agency for National Security and the Ministry of Interior.
The group's activities in Bulgaria are being monitored by the security services jointly with partner agencies. On 09.10.2023, numerous investigative actions, searches and seizures, interrogations of witnesses, including before a judge, etc., were carried out on the territory of several district towns in the country.
Five persons, all citizens of foreign countries, have been charged with organizing and participating in a criminal group, established for self-interested motives and for attempting to export dual-use items and technologies without authorization and in violation of sanctions (offences under Article 321 of the Criminal Code and Article 233, paragraph 1, in conjunction with Article 18 of the Criminal Code). Some of the members of the criminal network were detected at Sofia airport while trying to leave the country in order to reach the Russian Federation.
It has been established so far that one of the organizers has registered a commercial company in Plovdiv in order to carry out his activities. The company purchased various types of dual-use goods for about BGN 4 000 000 - optical sights, ballistic meters, aviation radio stations, etc. They were stored in a residential property, repackaged and prepared for export via Sofia airport to the Russian Federation.
A joint briefing on the case was given today, 10th October 2023, by the Prosecutor's Office, SANS and the Ministry of Interior. It was attended by Maria Pavlova, Deputy Prosecutor General, Zhivko Kotsev, Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior, Plamen Tonchev, Chairperson of the State Agency for National Security and Vanya Hristeva, Head of Plovdiv District Prosecutor’s Office.
"As a member state of the European Union and NATO, Bulgaria has its commitments to comply with the sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation after the beginning of the war against Ukraine," Deputy Prosecutor General Maria Pavlova said. She congratulated the Bulgarian security services, which, in the course of their duties to control trade in potentially dual-use goods, had detected the unregulated activity.
“Bulgarian law enforcement bodies are giving a clear signal to have the capacity and resources to oppose the interest of third parties, moreover in this case it is an aggressor conducting military actions," stressed Maria Pavlova.
The Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior, Zhivko Kotsev, indicated that the operation was launched at Sofia airport and that, and a lot of physical evidence related to criminal activity has been seized so far. The Head of Plovdiv District Prosecutor’s Office Vanya Hristeva specified that the revealed group has been active since 2022 until now.
The Chairperson of State Agency for National Security Plamen Tonchev explained the scheme according to which the criminal activity was carried out. “The operation was carried out in coordination with several partner agencies and in an extremely complex and dynamic international environment. The Bulgarian security services and the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria show that they are reliable partners and can been relied on their professional activity”, Tonchev said.