As a result of the active work of GDCOC officers, the activity of an organised criminal group set up to commit crimes – money laundering, tax offences and crimes against the environment – has been neutralised.
Four people were detained for 24 hours under the Ministry of the Interior Act during the special operation, including the leader of the organisation. Two people have been charged, one of them with laundering money amounting to EUR 1,548,052. Other individuals were also involved in the group.
During the investigation, 10 addresses – private properties and business premises – were searched. More than 1,500 canisters of various types of freon were found in a warehouse. Also seized were a car, a cash sum of over EUR 70,000, investment gold coins, high-value jewellery and watches, as well as numerous documents and items relevant to the pre-trial proceedings conducted under the supervision of the Plovdiv District Prosecutor's Office.
Some of the crimes, which generated significant financial resources, were committed outside Bulgaria and related to the evasion of customs duties due on goods of Chinese origin – refrigerant gas (freon). This was done using documents with false content regarding the origin, quantity and quality of the goods. It also involved the import, storage, trade and distribution, within the country and in other EU states, of significant quantities of fluorinated greenhouse gases and ozone-depleting substances released by the use of freon, in breach of European Union regulations. The tax offences were committed on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria.
The investigation continues.
