Contents tagged with Bulgaria
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Bulgaria discovers scheme to withdraw money from Venezuela
The Bulgarian government has uncovered a scheme to illegally withdraw funds from Venezuela, Bulgarian local media reported, citing a statement by the country’s Prosecutor General, Sotir Tsatsarov.
According to Tsatsarov, millions of euros belonging to the Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA have been transferred to bank accounts in Bulgaria. PDVSA is currently under US sanctions.
Bulgaria is exchanging information with the US about these suspicious transfers, Tsatsarov noted, adding …
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Bulgarian parliamentary commission will hold hearings to discuss 2015 Novichok poisoning attempt on Bulgarian businessman
On Thursday, February 14, the Parliamentary Commission for Control of the Security Services of Bulgaria will gather for hearings regarding the assassination attempt on Bulgarian businessman Emilian Gebrev that occurred nearly four years ago. According to the investigations by The Insider and Bellingcat, in April 2015, Gebrev was poisoned with the Russian nerve agent Novichok or a similar toxin of this group.
Investigators noted that Gebrev was poisoned during the same period that a GRU (Main …
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Bulgaria strips Russian millionaire Serguei Adoniev of citizenship
On Wednesday, the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice reported that Bulgaria stripped Russian millionaire Serguei Adoniev of the citizenship because he was found guilty of fraud in the USA about 20 years ago.
In an effort to join the Schengen Agreement, Bulgaria stated that it plans to stop the practice of selling citizenship to wealthy foreigners in exchange for an investment, which allows them to move freely within the EU.
Adoniev is ranked 147th in the list of Russia’s wealthiest businessmen, …
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Bulgaria extradites to the US Russian citizen accused of internet fraud
Another Russian, Alexander Zhukov, accused of internet fraud has been extradited to the US.
Zhukov, known by the nickname Nastra, lived in Petersburg and was detained in Bulgaria. He is currently detained in one of New York’s remand prisons. “[Russian] consular staff in New York are going to visit a compatriot in prison soon,” Russian Embassy reported.
Last autumn, Washington accused Zhukov of committing internet advertising fraud in the amount of $7 million dollars. Arrests in this case …
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Russia considers running Turkish Stream Gas pipeline through Bulgaria
Following talks with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Gazprom was "working out in practical terms" the construction of a second gas line stretching from Turkey to Bulgaria for Turkish Stream, which is intended for the transit of Russian gas through Turkey to the countries of the Southeast Europe, reported the newspaper Kommersant.
Initially, Gazprom was considering two routes – one through Greece to southern Italy (nicknamed the Poseidon …
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Ukraine and Bulgaria agree on the construction of a transport corridor
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov agreed on the joint construction of a road between the Odessa region, Reni and Varna, Poroshenko’s reported on hist Twitter.
“We agreed with the Prime Minister of Bulgaria to step up the construction of the road between the Odessa region, Reni and Varna through the territory of Romania,” Poroshenko stated. “We will do everything so that it becomes possible to get to Varna from Odessa easily in a few hours in the …
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Despite Ukraine’s protest Bulgaria hires Russian company to repair its MiG-29 fighters
According to the documents provided by the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense, Bulgaria has picked Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG to overhaul 15 soviet-era MiG-29 fighters before 2020, Reuters reports.
It’s reported that, as a member of the European Union and NATO, Bulgaria believes that only the Russian company can provide high-quality repairs. That is why Bulgarian officials did not invite any other bidders for the project.
The Ministry of Defense of Bulgaria planned to sign a four-year …
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Bulgarian deputy prime minister calls Russian Patriarch 'KGB agent'
Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Valeri Simeonov called Russian Patriarch Kirill of Moscow a “KGB agent” and “Russia’s cigarette metropolitan”, Radio Liberty writes.
“He is not an orthodox cleric. He is agent Mikhailov, a second-rate Soviet KGB agent,” the Deputy Prime Minister remarked.
According to Simeonov, the Russian patriarch has imported $14 billion worth of cigarettes into Russia since 1996.
This was Simeonov’s response to Kirill’s statements that he was disappointed with the …
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Bulgarian President vetoes anti-corruption law
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has vetoed a bill on combating corruption and confiscating illegally acquired property, Deutsche Welle reports.
On Tuesday, January 2, the presidential press office relayed that the document was thus returned to the National Assembly (parliament) for discussion.
Radev believes that the measures provided by law are insufficient for effectively combating corruption, and that they also deviate from provisions of the country's constitution and international …
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Bulgaria will not break off MiG maintenance deal with Russia
The anti-monopoly service of Bulgaria refused to annul the government’s deal with the Russian aircraft construction company MiG. The demand of the Ukrainian company Ukrinmash was thus rejected, Reuters reported on Tuesday January 2 with reference to a statement by the Bulgarian anti-monopoly regulator. The decision can be challenged within three days.
In December 2017, the Bulgarian Defense Ministry commissioned MiG to service 15 old fighters. The four-year deal was estimated at a value of $50. …