site.btaEUR 400,000-Plus, Numerous Valuables Seized in Anti-Money Laundering Operation

More than EUR 400,000 and other valuables have been seized in an anti-money laundering operation by the National Investigation Service, the National Police General Directorate and the State Agency for National Security under the supervision of the Sofia City Prosecution Office, the prosecution office’s press centre said on Tuesday.

The pre-trial proceedings were opened on November 15, 2024, and the evidence-gathering is being carried out by the National Investigation Service. The investigation concerns the activities of an organized crime group suspected of laundering money from drug trafficking and drug dealing.

During the operation, searches and seizures were carried out across Sofia at eight flats and commercial premises, with prior authorization from the Sofia City Court. A significant amount of material evidence - including mobile devices, numerous real estate ownership documents, various high-value items, and cash in BGN and USD, as well as more than EUR 400,000 - was confiscated.

The investigation is ongoing, the Sofia City Prosecution Office added.

On December 4, the Sofia Appellate Court left five of the seven defendants in the Historical Park case in custody. Anatoli Savov, Nikolay Hitov, Plamen Kanchev, Biser Sivkov, Zhivko Valchanov, Emil Eftimov, and Nikolay Kutsarov have been charged with participation in an organized crime group involved in embezzlement, money laundering and fraud. 

Those held in custody are Savov, Kanchev, Sivkov, Valchanov and Kutsarov. Hitov was released on bail of BGN 20,000 for health reasons. 

The charge against the group is that from early January 2013 to November 26, 2025, in Sofia, Varna (on the Black Sea) and other parts of the country, they took part in an organized crime group set up for profit and to commit offences.