Bulgaria's Specialized Prosecutor's Office has charged well-known businessman Grisha Ganchev with running an organized crime group specialized in tax fraud and with issuing a murder threat.

Ganchev has been released on a bail amounting to BGN 500 000.

The evidence gathered so far indicates that Ganchev ran the six-strong group that was busted on May 11 after a joint operation of the Chief Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (GDBOP) and the National Revenue Agency (NRA).

The special police operation resulted in six arrests, including Grisha Ganchev's son, Danail Ganchev.

Danail Ganchev, Milko Talev, Ivaylo Talev, Todor Simeonov, Milko Dimitrov and Kameliya Mircheva face charges of large-scale tax evasion and participation in organized crime.

The crime ring is said to have incurred losses worth hundreds of millions of leva to the state budget.

Ganchev also faces charges of threatening to kill Krasimir Stefanov, Executive Director of the National Revenue Agency (NRA).

Grisha Ganchev is the owner of the Litex FC and the Litex company, based in the northern Bulgarian city of Lovech.

As of the end of 2011, Ganchev's joint venture with the Chinese company Great Wall Motors, Litex Motors, started the production of Chinese cars for the EU market in the Litex Motors factory near Bulgaria's Lovech, in the village of Bahovitsa.