Former Customs Agency head Vanyo Tanov has accused Bulgaria's current government of appointing experienced fraudsters at the customs authority.

In a Sunday interview for Nova TV, Tanov claimed that the socialist-led coalition government felt free to appoint swindlers with solid track records because they did not know how long they would remain in office.

He claimed that a number of people anticipating appointments at senior posts of the Customs Agency were so well versed in the affairs that they ought to inspire fear.

Tanov, as cited by dnevnik.bg, insisted that he had never been pressured into approving political appointments during his term in office as Customs Agency head.

The former Director of Bulgaria's Customs Agency claimed that 2013 had been a year of failure for the customs authority due to the low revenues.

He insisted that the results for 2013 of one of the two revenue agencies had brought it back by a year due to several months of anarchy and mass dismissals of heads of customs units by the new government.

Tanov said that smuggling proceeded at full pace at the border crossing points of Kulata, Kalotina and Kapitan Andreevo.

He claimed that the directors of the border crossing points had been ordered to extort importers in order to fill the cash boxes of political parties or face dismissal.

Tanov was Director of the Customs Agency from August 6, 2009 until August 22, 2013.