BUSINESS AND POLICE IN BULGARIA CONSOLIDATE EFFORTS TO FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION IN THE ADMINISTRATION

Possibilities for joint efforts in the fight against corruption were discussed at a meeting between the Chairperson of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), Tsvetan Simeonov and representatives of sector “Combatting Corruption in the Administration”, which is part of department “Economic Police”, Ministry of Interior (MoI) - Miroslav Rashkov (Head of Economic Police) and Ivailo Krumov (head of the sector, BCCI said on 11th of October.

The sector for combatting corruption in the administration has been operational since the beginning of 2016. It has representatives in the Ministry of Interior’s 28 district directorates in the country. The new unit allows for rapid response in dealing with signals for corruption in the administration because it is directly dedicated and responsible for the anticorruption activities. The joint work of this sector has been synchronized with the Prosecutor’s Office, State Agency for National Security (SANS) and the relevant competent structures of the MoI.

The sector has sufficient capacity for work on socially significant cases and cases of limited significance. The information about the identity of the whistleblowers is protected.

The active participation of the members in the public, through submitting signals for corruption and further collaboration, if needed, is crucial for the success of the activities of the sector for combatting corruption, the BCCI press statement says. BCCI is committed to assist the work of the sector in terms of signals for corruption concerning the business and has built a platform on the BCCI’s website, on which companies and associations can report corruption: http://www.bcci.bg/signal

In the future, BCCI will take advantage of the proposal to organize meetings with representatives of the sector "Combating Corruption in the Administration," the Prosecutor's Office and other anti-corruption units, within which representatives of the companies will receive clarifications and to enable direct contact with the competent institutions.

The initiative will also facilitate foreign investors to whistleblow and report corruption instead of redirecting their investments abroad because of corrupt practices, BCCI says.

source: BTA

photo: MoI press offfice