Bulgaria MPs Back Stricter Rules on Offshore Ownership of Bulgarian Companies

A budget and finance committee in Parliament has approved restrictions to the share which an offshore entity can own of a Bulgarian company.

If the amendments are approved, offshore entities will only be able to own up to 10% of a Bulgarian company.

In cases where two or three offshore entities have shares in the same Bulgarian company their total stake cannot exceed ten percent, according to the proposed changes.

The decision comes as the Panama Papers affair, unveiled by the Sueddeutsche Zeitung and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) is unfolding, shedding light on a global offshore industry after the leak of around 11.5 million documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.

At least 50 companies, 16 company owners and 78 shareholders from across Bulgaria have been linked to registrations in offshore jurisdictions around the world, according to Sofia-based news daily newspaper 24 Chasa – the ICIJ's only reporting partner from Bulgaria.

Another 100 people were directors, agents, lawyers or liquidators; some of them were foreign nationals residing in Bulgaria or having Bulgarian passports.

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