site.btaSearches of Arms Dealers Carried out in Bulgaria at Ukraine's Request

Searches of arms dealers are being carried out in Bulgaria at a request for legal assistance from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, the Supreme Prosecution Office of Cassation said Tuesday. A team of investigators from the National Investigation Service (NIS) is conducting searches and seizures in homes and offices in Sofia and across the country.

The request from Kyiv is related to an investigation into corruption in Ukraine involving the sale of weapons at inflated prices.

Participating in the searches are numerous investigators from the NIS, employees of the Interior Ministry's General Directorate (DG) for Combatting Organized Crime and DG Gendarmerie, Special Operations and Counter-Terrorism, acting under the supervision of the Supreme Prosecution Office of Cassation.

This is part of international cooperation in the fight against corruption and abuse in the arms trade, the prosecution service said.