US Basketball Players Implicated in Bulgarian Bribery Scheme

Yane Yanev, leader of the conservative Law, Order and Justice. Photo by BGNES

Agents of US basketball players have allegedly bribed their clients' way into receiving Bulgarian citizenship, according to Yane Yanev, the controversial leader of the conservative Law, Order and Justice party.

Yanev is currently chairing an ad-hoc inquiry committee that investigates the actions of former President Georgi Parvanov and Vice President Angel Marin in granting citizenships and pardoning felons.

"The bribes have been given by people dealing with transfers of players. Several of the signals have triggered journalistic investigations. The sums for the bribes vary between USD 10 000 and USD 50 000," Yanev commented on the alleged bribe scheme on Tuesday.

He explained that the players in question, whose names he did not disclose, wanted an easier access to being registered as players within the EU.

Yanev's committee was created in February to determine the legitimacy of Parvanov and Marin's actions in granting pardons to felons and okaying Bulgarian citizenship requests, after several scandals emerged involving Marin's alleged illegitimacy during his second term in office and his generous pardoning of felons.

Bulgaria's Supreme Administrative court recently ruled that there was no clash between the law and the Constitution in the case of the revoked naturalization of Konstantin Tsiganov, alleged Russian mafia thug sought by the Interpol.

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