On the occasion of the published report of the United States Department of the Treasury, the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria states that it fully shares the position of our American partners that the rule of law and law abiding are the basis of any democratic state and it is impossible to uphold them without a united and consistent counteraction the organized crime, money laundering and corruption.
With regard to four of the six individuals against whom sanctions were imposed, the Prosecution had already taken timely action to investigate and prosecute them.
As early as 2018, the Specialized Prosecutor's Office conducted an investigation against two of the persons, former representatives of the Executive, in the course of which Bulgarian identity documents abuse was proved. They were brought to court for participation in an organized criminal group set up to demand and receive bribes, trading in influence and money laundering. The case is currently under the jurisdiction of the Specialized Criminal Court.
In 2019, Blagoevgrad District Prosecutor's Office instituted criminal proceedings filed an indictment in the court against one of the persons, a former Deputy Minister for illegal actions committed in order to obtain profits from the European Union funds.
With regard to the fourth person, pre-trial proceedings were instituted in 2020 and evidence was collected for leading an organized criminal group, complicity in criminal breach of trust, trading in influence, bribery, extortion and other crimes of high public danger. The same person was brought in absentia as a defendant because he is hiding from the competent authorities abroad in order to thwart the investigation and avoid criminal liability. The necessary actions for international search with the purpose of extradition have been taken.
All crimes, subject to criminal liability of persons involved, are corruption crimes and fall into the Unified Catalog of Corruption Crimes, introduced by order of the Prosecutor General in 2014, after implementation of the recommendations of the European Commission regarding the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism.
For all persons pointed in the report will be taken all necessary actions in accordance with the legal competence of the Prosecution to verify the information disclosed by the US authorities, including by requiring additional such information in due course.
The Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria highly appreciates the assistance provided by the US competent authorities to our country as a partner in the fight against organized crime and corruption. We have proved that we do not hesitate to exercise our constitutional powers to prosecute any person for whom evidence of criminal activity has been collected. We have always worked and continue to work in defense of the public interest, national security and the rights of Bulgarian citizens. Therefore, the interaction with all institutions with similar activities and goals on a national and international level is extremely important.