New Bribery and Coercion Charges Hit Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev
New charges have been filed against Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev, expanding the ongoing corruption investigation that has gripped Bulgaria’s seaside city
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The president of Nove Holding Vasil Bozhkov has 7 allegations raised and Interpol has released a "Red Notice" on his arrest, Attorney General Ivan Geshev confirmed.
Part of the charges against the businessman are for the leadership of an organized criminal group, coercion, extortion, attempted bribery of an official and incitement to commit criminal offenses.
Earlier today, the Prosecutor's Office and the police entered the offices of his holding company, the National Lottery and the Gambling Commission.
"We will make every effort to take Bozhkov to court. This is another oligarch who has fled Bulgaria. I do not know where Bozhkov is but I know he is not in the country, "Geshev said.
Vasil Bozhkov was surprised by Geshev's statement
"The Attorney General said that? Nobody called me." He was surprised and asked what he had been accused of. Asked if he would return to Bulgaria, Bozhkov answered that he was available.
"I'm available, there is no problem."
He said he doesn't know what the search is for and that no one was looking for him. He also emphasized that there are phones and whoever is looking for him can simply call him.
Vasil Bozhkov is one of the most recognizable and famous public figures in Bulgaria. He is Bulgaria's richest man with a net worth of about $1.5 billion.
The Sofia Regional Prosecution Office has formally charged an Italian national over a series of thefts committed at a retail outlet at Sofia’s Vasil Levski Airport, authorities confirmed on Wednesday.
In Bulgaria's region of Montana, authorities reported another case involving counterfeit euros after a man attempted to pay his water bill with a fake 100-euro note
In Kazanlak, a grocery store owner recently identified a counterfeit 100-euro banknote in circulation. Tihomir Bezlov, chief expert of the Security program at the Center for the Study of Democracy
Bulgarian authorities seized 215 liters of alcohol from a commercial premises in the village of Malo Konare, Pazardzhik region, the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Pazardzhik reported.
A family of pensioners from the village of Lozno in Kyustendil became victims of a robbery after converting 50,000 leva (approximately €25,500) into euros at a local bank.
A counterfeit 500 Euro (BGN 980) banknote was discovered in Pernik after being used to claim winnings at a local casino.
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