Two employees of the Bulgarian Executive Agency “Automobile Administration” have been detained after demanding and accepting bribes totalling nearly BGN 1,000 – BGN 400 and €300 – from lorry drivers transporting equipment for Robbie Williams’ concert in Sofia.
The inspectors stopped two trucks with UK registration carrying concert equipment and attempted to extort the drivers. Following a report to the Ministry of Interior and the British Embassy, the employees were detained for 72 hours.
"The actions were taken following a tip-off from the concert organiser. Colleagues from the Sofia Directorate of the Interior reacted immediately and launched an investigation. Witnesses were interviewed, and later proceedings involved a judge. Searches were carried out on vehicles, at addresses, and on individuals. On 28 September, the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office ordered the two agency employees to be charged with accepting bribes of BGN 200 and €300 from foreign lorry drivers transporting concert equipment," explained Deputy City Prosecutor of Sofia Desislava Petrova.
The extortion took place on 25 September. Initially, the amounts requested and accepted were BGN 200 from one driver, BGN 200 from another, and €300 from a third.
A court decision on whether the suspects will be remanded in custody is expected tomorrow; they are currently held for 72 hours.
Chief Commissioner Lyubomir Nikolov stated that 22 trucks were scheduled to deliver equipment for the concert, with five being stopped at the “Black Cat” checkpoint.
"The five drivers reported being asked for bribes due to faults in their tachograph discs. Some did not comply with the threats of fines totalling €750, but three of them paid €300 and two others BGN 200," Nikolov explained.
Due to the language barrier, the drivers and inspectors communicated using Google Translate. Those who did not have the requested cash on hand were forced to withdraw BGN 200 from a nearby ATM.
During searches of the suspects’ homes, investigators found large sums of money hidden in cigarette boxes, including €43,000 in cash and over BGN 5,000. Surveillance footage is currently being reviewed for further evidence, Nikolov said.
"The sums initially requested and accepted by the officers were 200 leva from one of the drivers, 200 leva from another of the drivers and 300 euros from the third of them."
Tomorrow it should become clear whether the detainees will be asked to be remanded in custody. They are currently detained for 72 hours.
Chief Commissioner Lyubomir Nikolov explained that 22 freight trains were due to arrive for the concert. Five of these compositions were stopped at the checkpoint "Black Cat".
"The five drivers claimed that they were asked for a bribe in view of the fact that they had a fault in the tacho pulleys. Some of them did not accept their threats that they would be fined for their malfunction, if I may say so, with 750 euros, but the other three responded to their demands and unfortunately gave a bribe of 300 euros and two others 200 leva each," explained Chief Commissioner Lyubomir Nikolov.
There was a language barrier between the officers and the drivers as they are English citizens.
"They used Google Translate for communication. Another interesting thing is that those who did not have the amount in their possession that was requested were forced to withdraw the sum of 200 leva from a nearby ATM," Nikolov said.
In the course of the searches and searches, investigators came across interesting finds.
"In the homes of the detainees, they found large amounts of euro banknotes hidden in cigarette boxes, as well as large amounts of cash in one of the detainees' possession. The total amount we found was 43 thousand euros and over 5 thousand leva in cash. At the moment, data from cameras are being established," Nikolov specified.
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