Tsvetan Vasilev to Take Bulgaria to Court over KTB

Business » FINANCE | April 6, 2015, Monday // 12:55
Bulgaria: Tsvetan Vasilev to Take Bulgaria to Court over KTB Tsvetan Vasilev. Photo: vassilev.bg

Bulgarian businessman Tsvetan Vasilev has argued that an attack was carried out on his bank by an insider, but the scenario
for bringing it to a failure was prepared "outside."

In a strong-worded statement, he has voiced his intention to bring Bulgaria to court in the name of "all those who suffered unduly from this ominous scenario developed and carried out with the help of a number of state institutions".

Vasilev is referring to the developments at collapsed Corporate Commercial Bank (Corpbank or KTB), of which the central bank BNB seized control and appointed administrators in June 2014 following a run on deposits.

Prior to the developments KTB was Bulgaria's fourth-largest lender.

In a statement published on his personal website [BG], Corpbank's majority owner uses a paragraph to address ex-Finance Minister Petar Chobanov, who was in office at the time of the deposits run, and adds the plan to ruin the bank was carried by Chobanov's "mentor". The "mentor" is not named, though Vasilev has often put the blame for events at KTB on lawmaker Delyan Peevski.

Vasilev says the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) has failed to provide an answer as to why it kept silent about what he calls "a brutal attack on the bank".

The businessman also poses the question how BNB Governor Ivan Iskrov and his colleagues were able to find out in a day that "one of the banks [First Investment Bank] has enough capital, and Corporate Commercial Bank AD does not meet the requirements" for state support.

Vasilev has repeatedly blamed Iskrov for providing assistance in what he describes as a plot against KTB.

First Investment Bank for its part was also exposed to a bank run nearly a week after Corpbank. However, liquidity support was swiftly provided by the state.

The businessman also wonders why an audit was carried out at KTB following the run, but no such action was taken with regard to First Investment Bank.

He also seeks to know why authorities gave the green light for KTB to take over Credit Agricole Bulgaria if there was "doubt" about the former bank's business activities.

"I believe, however, that in Strasbourg they will find an adequate answer," Vasilev concludes at the end of his statement.

Strasbourg houses the European Court of Human Rights alongside a number of other key European institutions.

Vasilev's statement comes after his interview with the website Glasove and claims to dispel "speculation by both Bulgarian media outlets and Bulgarian institutions".


 

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Tags: BNB, Bulgarian National Bank, Ivan Iskrov, Delyan Peevski, Petar Chobanov, First Investment Bank, Corporate Commercial Bank, Corpbank, KTB, Tsvetan Vasilev, Credit Agricole Bulgaria

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