Emil Dimitrov – newly appointed Customs Agency Director - 39, graduated from the University of National and World Economics (UNWE) in 1992, majoring in Economics and Domestic Trade Management. He specialized in two subjects, Corporate Finance and Accountancy, and Finance, Accountancy, and Control at the Post-Graduate Training Institute with the UNWE.
He also took specialization courses in the United Kingdom, Russia, Hungary and Italy in the field of public standards, corruption control, economic crimes, and financial police practices. Dimitrov became popular a year and a half ago, after disclosing a series of financial abuses in the customs system. He then quoted a certificate of audit, drawn in 1998 and concealed for a long time, which, Dimitrov said, contained
evidence of offences that inflicted a total loss of BGN 30,000 M to the State. However, the reliability of the audit results was challenged and Dimitrov was dismissed. Then he headed the Civil Society Against Corruption organization.
Interviewed by various media, he outlined the future priorities of the Customs Agency. Dimitrov said that an integrated information system must be introduced as soon as possible to keep track of the commodities entering the country and the customs duties paid for them in order to identify the debtors. In parallel to this, a database must be built to collect information from the General Tax Directorate, the courts' company divisions, and the customs administration. According to Dimitrov the State has been losing $1 200 M a year due to unpaid customs and excise duties. Dimitrov describes crime and corruption as the most serious problems; the second grave problem is the administration. He would move for changes in the Customs Act in the section pertaining to the administration, and for new rules of procedure of the Customs Agency to streamline the handling of mass consumption commodities, as well as of excisable and hazardous goods. He also recommends the establishment of a financial police as a new institution, bringing together the State Financial Control, the Financial Intelligence Bureau and the customs administration.

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