Expats

Bulgaria, Romania may hope for Schengen entry after EU reports [Feb 09, 2012] Bulgaria and Romania have made some progress against corruption and organized crime, the EU executive said. [via YahooNews] More >>

EU criticizes Bulgaria, Romania on reforms [Feb 08, 2012] The European Union criticized Romania and Bulgaria on Wednesday for being too slow to reform their judicial systems or to combat corruption and organized crime. The move casts doubt on the two Balkan nations joining the borderless Schengen zone anytime soon. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Top Prosecutor: Organized Crime Is on Decline [Dec 17, 2011] Bulgaria's organized crime is weaker, less obvious, and less organized compared to five years ago, according to Chief Prosecutor, Boris Velchev. Speaking for Darik radio Saturday, Velchev stressed that if any crime activity in Bulgaria went down, it was the organized one. "I say this with the clear understanding that such statement could trigger irony and mockery, but it is a fact that in the ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Interior Minister on Official Visit to US [Nov 07, 2011] Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, is leaving Monday on an official trip to the US. The news was reported by the Interior Ministry press center. The Chief of the Main Directorate for the Fight against Organized Crime (GDBOP), Stanimir Florov, is also part of the delegation. ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's High-Profile Mafia Case to Be Retried on Appeal [Oct 19, 2011] Bulgaria's Supreme Court of Cassations returned Wednesday the case against alleged mobsters Krasimir and Nikolay Marinovi aka The Marguin Brother to the Sofia Court of Appeals. The magistrates from the lower instance are asked to reexamine the case to possibly lead to guilty verdicts for the brothers. The outcome of this long-dragging, high-profile organized crime trail is to become clear by the ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Elects President of New 'Special Court' [Oct 06, 2011] Judge Georgi Ushev was elected by the Bulgarian Supreme Judicial Council to head the first-instance criminal court set up to hear high-profile organized crime and corruption cases. This was the third competition for the so-called 'specialized court' or 'anti-mafia tribunal' head, after the first two failed with no candidates adequate showing up. Ushev was elected with 21 votes from the Supreme ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Romania and Bulgaria Are Denied Entry to Schengen Zone [Sep 23, 2011] Finland and the Netherlands objected to admitting Romania and Bulgaria to the European Union?s passport-free travel zone, citing concerns over anticorruption and organized crime. [via YahooNews] More >>

Romania and Bulgaria Are Denied Entry to Schengen Zone [Sep 23, 2011] Finland and the Netherlands objected to admitting Romania and Bulgaria to the European Union?s passport-free travel zone, citing concerns over anticorruption and organized crime. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Ex PM Denies Charges, Slams 'Political Tricks' [Aug 19, 2011] Sergey Stanishev, Bulgaria's former prime minister and leader of the opposition Socialist Party, who was charged last year over the leak of a classified report on organized crime, said it was no accident that the deadlock in his trial was broken now. "The investigation against me from the very beginning is highly politicized. It was a year ago when my lawyer forecast the case will enter the ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Ex PM Stanishev Escapes Court, Faces Slim Fine [Aug 17, 2011] Sergey Stanishev, Bulgaria's former prime minister and leader of the opposition Socialist Party, who was charged last year over the leak of a classified report on organized crime, should be punished with a fine, prosecutors have said. Prosecutors say the former prime minister is guilty of losing seven confidential documents, which he has received personally and has signed. The indictment was ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Excels in Organized Crime, Corruption Acquittals - EC Report 2011 [Jul 20, 2011] Bulgaria has failed to achieve "convincing results" in its fight against organized crime and corruption, according to the annual monitoring report of the European Commission on its post-EU accession progress. The EC is about as critical of Bulgaria's continuing failure to crack down on organized crime and corruption as it is of the country's flawed reform of the judiciary. The 2011 monitoring ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Ex PM: My Trial Part of Vote 2011 Parapharnelia [Jul 03, 2011] Sergey Stanishev, Bulgaria's former prime minister and leader of the opposition Socialist Party, who was charged last year over the leak of a classified report on organized crime, expects the deadlock in his trial to be broken right before the elections. "I expect to see developments in the case ahead of the upcoming general elections in the autumn,", Sergey Stanishev told Trud daily while in ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Varna Entry Point for Cocaine from Latin America - Europol [May 04, 2011] Black Sea ports including Odessa, Constanta and Bulgaria's Varna have been identified as points of transit or entry for cocaine from Latin America, according to the latest report on organized crime by Europol. "Within South East Europe, Bulgaria now serves as a transit point for maritime shipments from Latin America, trafficking from West Africa via Turkey and the Balkan Routes, and cocaine ... [via YahooNews] More >>

WikiLeaks: 'Uncensored' 2005 US Diplomatic Cable on Organized Crime in Bulgaria [Mar 18, 2011] From WikiLeaks WikiLeaks released on Friday, March 18, 2011, what it says to be an "uncensored" version of US diplomatic cable by former US Ambassador James Pardew sent on July 7, 2005, outlining "Who Is Who in Bulgarian Organized Crime" as well as connections between organized crime and politicians. A shortened, or "censored", version of the same document was first released in December 2010 ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Former PM Stanishev May Escape Court [Mar 18, 2011] Sergey Stanishev, Bulgaria's former prime minister and leader of the opposition Socialist Party, is likely to steer clear of the court room despite charges over the leak of a classified report on organized crime. "The prosecutor's office will make one more and last attempt to find the confidential documents, which triggered the investigation against Sergey Stanishev. This is the reason why the ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's GERB Firm on Launching Special Tribunal [Mar 14, 2011] The launch of the special tribunal for high-profile organized crime cases will not be delayed beyond August, 2011, as was the request of Chief Prosecutor, Boris Velchev. The decision was made Monday during a meeting between Velchev, Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, the Chair of the Parliamentary Legal Committee from the ruling center-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria to Fight Drug Trafficking with New Customs Unit [Mar 05, 2011] A new unit will be created in the Bulgarian Customs Agency which will aim to cope with the drug trafficking issue, the country's Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, has announced. The new unit will work in close collaboration with the special unit for fighting organized crime in the Bulgarian Interior Ministry, as well as with the US drug fighting authorities. On Saturday, Borisov gave a special ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's New Anti-Corruption Unit to Cost BGN 2 M per Year [Feb 20, 2011] The newly established Center for Prevention of Organized Crime and Corruption (BORKOR) will cost the Bulgarian state budget BGN 2 M per year, according to the unit's head, Rumen Milanov. "The project for BORKOR began implementing during the previous government. This is a new approach, which has not been implemented in Bulgaria.... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria and Romania still lag EU standards on crime and corruption [Feb 18, 2011] Brussels - European Union newcomers Bulgaria and Romania still lag far behind the bloc's standards on fighting corruption and organized crime, reports released Friday showed. [via YahooNews] More >>

Interviews: Bulgaria in 2011 [Dec 28, 2010] According to BSP, the cabinet suffered most criticism in the economic and social sphere and the delay of Bulgaria?s entry to the Schengen Area was an indication of failure in the fight against organized crime and corruption. [via YahooNews] More >>