site.btaSearches of Arms Dealers across Bulgaria at Ukraine’s Request Yield No Arrests

Searches and seizures in homes and offices of arms dealers were carried out in Sofia and across Bulgaria on Tuesday at a request for legal assistance from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine. The request from Kyiv is related to an investigation into corruption in Ukraine involving the sale of weapons at inflated prices. It is part of international cooperation in the fight against corruption and abuse in the arms trade, the prosecuting magistracy said.

Participating in the searches were investigators from the National Investigation Service (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.

Earlier in the day, acting Secretary General of the Interior Ministry Miroslav Rashkov told journalists that no arrests had been made at the time of searches. He specified that the operation was being carried out in several regions under the control of the National Investigation Service. Addresses in several cities are being searched, he added.

At a press conference in Varna, the leader of the ABV (Alternative for Bulgarian Revival) political party, Rumen Petkov, commented that the actions of the Bulgarian services and institutions humiliated Bulgarian companies and the country’s reputation was damaged. He said that it is an attempt to shift corruption schemes within Ukraine onto EU and NATO member states.

The ABV party is part of the BSP - United Left coalition, which is one of the formations in the ruling majority together with GERB-UDF and There Is Such a People.