The Anti-Corruption Commission for Illegal Assets Forfeiture (ACCIAF) has filed a claim in court for the confiscation of BGN 158,000 from MEP Elena Yoncheva.

The claim was lodged on March 17 to the Sofia City Court, and Yoncheva became the subject of a probe by the Commission then headed by Sotir Tsatsarov after she was charged with money laundering in early 2019.

ACCIAF claim alleges that the money was withdrawn by Elena Yoncheva at a cash desk or an ATM from an account in the notorious CorpBank in 2012-2014.

According to the specialized prosecutor’s office which brought accusations against MEP, the money for which she is being investigated was syphoned off from CorpBank through an offshore company registered in the British Virgin Islands. The prosecutor's office believes that Yoncheva set up a joint venture with the offshore company and then deposited about EUR 650,000 on personal accounts.

Already then, the MEP flatly denied accusations and declared that the charges against her were commissioned for political reasons because of her disclosures and her work.