PM Borisov, Secret Service Head Laud Bulgaria's Progress in Combating Currency Counterfeiting

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan met Thursday to discuss strategies for combatting cybercrime and financial crime. Photo by BGNES

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov met Thursday with Mark Sullivan, Director of the United States Secret Service, who arrived in Sofia to attend a conference on cyber security and cyber crime.

"Our cooperation with Bulgaria has never been at a better level. Although we speak different languages and we are miles apart, we are connected by a partnership which will continue," Sullivan told journalist after the meeting.

The head of Secret Service said that a key point of discussion with Borisov had been examples of successful partnership in the fight against counterfeiting because Bulgaria had turned into a fake currency hub at a certain point.

"Now financial crime and cybercrime are the most dangerous for us. Over the past few years, some 40-45 Bulgarians were arrested for bank card skimming," Sullivan explained in response to a question whether the US was investigating Bulgarian criminals.

Earlier Thursday it was announced that three Bulgarians living in the outer boroughs of New York had been given prison terms for participating in a large-scale ATM fraud scheme.

According to reports of The Wall Street Journal, the three Bulgarians defrauded Valley National Bancorp (VLY) customers in New Jersey of USD 278 144.

In Borisov's words, he and Sullivan remembered a 2001 visit of a Bulgarian delegation headed by Rumen Milanov, then head of the National Service for Combating Organized Crime, which featured a video presentation indicating that Bulgaria ranked second to Columbia in the production and distribution of counterfeit currency.

The Bulgarian Prime Minister highlighted that an estimated 30-40 counterfeit money rings had been busted in the ten years since then.

"At that point there was no confidence in Bulgaria, we met people who were one level higher in rank to the janitor, while now the head of Secret Service flew across the Atlantic to come here," Borisov declared.

He further made it clear that Sullivan's visit was made possible by year-long efforts and that it provided additional support for Bulgaria's overall security and the country's accession to Schengen.

Borisov concluded by saying that the Deputy Prime Minister would pay a visit to the US next month and specified that the meetings there had already been confirmed.

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