10 Tons of Zirconium Go Missing in Bulgaria - Report

At least one Bulgarian Minister and a number of other top officials are involved in an international scandal over the disappearing of 10 tons of zirconium.

The news was reported Friday morning by the BGNES news agency which cites sources from the investigation of the affair, including specific documents that it claims to have access to.

Thus, top-ranking Bulgarian officials are said to have committed document fraud and other crimes with regard to "the transfer and the very likely sale" of 10 tons of zirconium, which is a dual-use metal.

According to the information provided by BGNES, on April 8, 1993, the Belarus firm MP "VERAS" imported the zirconium through the Sofia Airport. The owner is the only legal person that can dispose of the substance.

Until April 4, 2007, the zirconium was stored at facilities owned by a famous Bulgarian airline official. After that, however, in violation of the law the zirconium was transferred to a storage facility owned by M & M Air Cargo Service Single Member Ltd, without the knowledge and order of the owner MP "VERAS".

According to BGNES's information, on April 23, 2007, the zirconium in question was nationalized with a decree of Bulgaria's Finance Minister, Plamen Oresharski, and was then transferred in possession of the Ministry of Interior.

A number of legal violations are reported to have been involved in this transaction including the total secrecy regarding the owner of the substance. The transaction is said to have been inspired by a former top officials of Bulgaria's intelligence services.

The Bulgarian top officials are said to most likely have hoped that the Belarus firm would not care about its property and committed "most likely illegal and criminal export activity" of a little over 10 tons of zirconium, according to persons that have been following the investigation for two years as quoted by BGNES.

BGNES also points out that this conclusion could be considered valid as during the recent meeting of Bulgaria's Interior Minister Mihail Mikov has told the Sofia Prosecutor Nikolay Kokinov and the MP Yane Yanev that no such substance, i.e. zirconium was currently available in the storage facilities of the Interior Ministry.

According to BGNES, lawyers authorized by the Belarus firm MP VERAS have been trying unsuccessfully to recover their property for two years by addressing various Bulgarian institutions.

According to the cited investigators, the likelihood that the zirconium in questions is still in Bulgaria is minimal, and the "intelligence services of our partners are aware of the scandal of the export way of the zirconium out of Bulgaria". Given the amount and the essence of the substance, the affair is also said to be followed by the European Commission and other EU structures.

BGNES reports that, if sold legally, the zirconium in question would cost several million US dollars, but if sold to pariah states like Iran or North Korea, its price would likely skyrocket.

The zirconium is a dual-use metal used for the production of nuclear reactor pipes. It is a chemical element with the symbol Zr and atomic number 40. It is a lustrous, gray-white, strong transition metal that resembles titanium.

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