Bulgaria Govt Vows Crack Down on Money Launderers

Hotels in the winter resort of Pamporovo have caught the attention of the Bulgarian police and will most probably be subjected to checks. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria's police has warned it is bracing for a new raid, which will target suspected money launderers in the winter resort of Pamporovo.

This became clear from a statement by Interior Ministry Secretary Kalin Georgiev, who spoke in the town of Smolyan.

“There are many hotels in Pamporovo, which are attractive for a check as it is not clear where the money for their construction has come from,” Georgiev said.

Reports say the new raid is likely to be code-named “The money launderers” and will target businessmen, who have turned hotels in mountain resorts and real estate deals into a money laundering scheme.

Bulgaria's new center-right government is taking steps to root out the corruption and organized crime that have affected the country for years. Interestingly Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has described the series of recent police raids as anti-crisis measures, meant to patch up the leaky budget.

In February heavily armed anti-terror police burst into homes, bars and strip-joints to arrest 14 alleged members of a powerful crime gang in an operation, named "Octopus". They are suspected of extortion, drug trafficking, money laundering and tax fraud.

The raid was followed by another, code-named “The Fakirs”, which targeted car thieves. Along with “The Fakir” operation, the police also carried out a raid against members of the so-called strong-arm groups, who are believed to be involved in contract murders.

In one of the latest raid of Bulgaria's police against organized crime groups, code-named “The Untouchables", sixteen people were arrested. The operation targeted suspect members of a group for money laundering and tax crimes, which have incurred huge losses to the state.

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