International Money Laundering Group Busted in Bulgaria

An organized international crime group has laundered millions of EUR in Bulgaria. File photo

An organized international crime group, which had laundered over EUR 150 M, has been busted in Bulgaria.

The operation had been conducted jointly by the Bulgarian State Agency for National Security, DANS, the Interior Ministry and the National Revenue Agency, NRA, under the leadership of the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office and the Regional Prosecutor's Office in the Danube city of Ruse.

The group, organized and led by Italian nationals, used the so-called "ghost merchants" scam to launder the money.

Four addresses have been raided and the authorities seized accounting invoices and stamps of Bulgarian companies, fake authorization letters, cash terminals, a hiding place for automobiles, and Italian ID documents.

Part of the criminals have been arrested in Lithuania, where the raids yielded the same fake documents.

The bank accounts of the above said companies have been frozen. A pre-trial procedure has been launched.

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