Bulgaria’s Prosecutor’s Office opened a probe into issuance of “golden passports”

The Specialised Prosecutor's Office initiated pre-trial proceedings on a signal about the existence of an organised crime group that helped certain persons to acquire Bulgarian citizenship after investment, the spokesman of the Specialised Prosecutor’s Office, Hristo Krastev told at a briefing on February 8.

According to the signal, the group was active on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria in the period 2015-2021, and may be continues to operate to date.

According to the Prosecutor's Office, such activity threatens Bulgaria's interests with regard to the country's bid for membership in the Schengen area, as well as the visa waiver for the United States.

As part of the investigation, all passports issued under the "naturalization by investment" scheme for the period 2015-2021 will be examined.

The origin of the investments made will also be checked, as well as whether they were maintained after the granting of Bulgarian citizenship.

"This is an organised crime group that has been set up for a self-serving purpose - to acquire property in an unlawful manner in connection with the provision of Bulgarian citizenship to foreign nationals. The pre-trial proceedings were initiated yesterday, and employees of the Bulgarian Investment Agency may have been involved in this criminal group," Krastev said.

The Prosecutor's Office did not specify whether it would bring charges against the Bulgarian Investment Agency (BIA) officials.

According to BNT sources, the office of the BIA executive director, Stamen Yanev, is being searched.

As BNT reported earlier, prosecutors launched a probe into the Investment Agency and three other ministries - the Justice Ministry's Bulgarian Citizenship Directorate, the Interior Ministry's Migration Directorate and the Ministry of the Economy.

The spokesman of the Specialised Prosecutor's Office Hristo Krastev confirmed that the pre-trial proceedings were initiated following a signal by MP Hamid Hamid from the Movement for Rights and Freedoms.

Yesterday, February 7, 2022, the Supreme Administrative Prosecutor's Office launched a probe into the signal from the MRF on foreign nationals who were granted citizenship by naturalisation in exchange for investments. A large number of those who were granted "golden passports", had the right of residence or investor certificates, were Chinese citizens. It is also alleged that many of them had affiliations with Beijing's special services.

The “golden passports” scheme involves getting Bulgarian citizenship on the basis of investments.

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