Standart News

The organized crime in Bulgaria has abandoned traditional methods for money laundering like expensive hotels and boutiques and has invented the purchase of politicians. Currently this is the easiest and safest way for laundering money earned from prostitution and drugs, explained experts from the Centre for the Study of Democracy. Their survey shows that unlike other European countries, Bulgaria has adopted a unique form of money laundering labeled political investment. The purchase of politicians provides underground bosses with direct access to the power, experts from the Centre explain. Their surveys point out that annually about 5 billion levs (1euro = 1.95 levs) are laundered in Bulgaria. Only 0.1% of these are investigated by the police. Experts from the Centre maintain that the organized crime in Bulgaria tends to invest more and more millions in political parties. Specialists say this is almost impossible to prove via the tools legislation provides.
"For the last 20 years the state has been possessed by the structures of former State Security. Thus the extremely effective symbiosis between the state and organized crime has been established and this led to unprecedented high levels of corruption on the high state levels," said Bulgaria's Minister of Interior, Tsvetan Tsvetanov who took part in a round table on the topic.
Minister Tsvetanov further said that many of the bandits in Bulgaria had already legalized their business, had declared the source of their incomes and investments.
"Many people who have legalized their money are doomed as long as somebody gets seriously after them," added Prof. Stoyan Kushlev, chairman of the Committee on Confiscation of Property Obtained from Criminal Activity.

Desislava Georgieva