Bulgaria's Retail Sales Surge as EU Faces Decline
Retail sales across the European Union showed a decline in December, with both the eurozone and the EU reporting decreases
Currently, the controlling bodies in the European Union detect only 1% of the proceeds from money laundering on the Old Continent, BNT reported.
New rules for financial payments at European Union level enter into force on 20 January. They envisage tightening controls on financial fraud and money laundering. This was announced on Decemebr 17 in a BNT interview with MEP from EPP, Emil Radev, who is also the rapporteur on the topic. Bulgaria is one of the countries that has fulfilled almost all legal requirements related to combatting financial fraud and money laundering.
For the first time at European Union level, control over cryptocurrencies and their conversion into real means of payment will be tightened. "Until now, there were no real rules on how the virtual currency would become a real one, which allowed money laundering, and thus financing even terrorist organizations," Radev explained.
Changes have also been made to the financial justification in the field of works of art, where rules will also be introduced at EU level already.
According to Emil Radev, only 1% of money laundering cases are currently detected at European Union level, which is too small. However, Bulgaria is one of the countries with a high rate of capture of such cases, and in our part of the rules, especially concerning the confiscation of illegally acquired property, the rules are more serious than in other Member States.
According to Radev, property in Bulgaria is currently seized for nearly BGN 2 billion. Money laundering and misuse of EU funds is among the leading topics of today's parliamentary session.
The Sofia City Court has ordered a 22-year-old woman, who stabbed three passers-by in the capital, to be placed in the psychiatric clinic at Lovech prison for a 30-day examination
Pre-trial proceedings have been launched for attempted murder following a knife attack in Sofia that left three men injured
The Sofia District Prosecutor's Office is seeking a court order to detain Ksenia Plachkova and place her in a psychiatric facility for evaluation
A 22-year-old woman was arrested in Sofia on charges of attempted murder after stabbing three men in separate incidents near the South Park entrance and on Vitosha Boulevard
In a disturbing incident on Sofia's "Vitoshka" street, three individuals were stabbed in the morning, prompting a swift response from emergency services
A man accused of setting fire to a residential building in Solingen, Germany, last year, resulting in the deaths of a Bulgarian family, has unexpectedly pleaded guilty in court
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