Bulgaria to probe its member of EBRD board over “Azerbaijani laundromat”

Bulgaria to probe its member of EBRD board over “Azerbaijani laundromat”
By bne IntelliNews September 8, 2017

Bulgaria’s chief prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov has ordered an investigation into allegations the country’s representative on the board of directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Kalin Mitrev was involved in the "Azerbaijani laundromat". Mitrev was named in an investigation published by The Guardian earlier this week.

Following the leaking of confidential banking documents, UK daily The Guardian, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and various other media outlets published reports tracing some $2.9bn worth of transfers that Baku made via shell companies to European officials and companies between 2012 and 2014.

Some of the institutions named in the investigation, such as schools in the UK and the Council of Europe, already have said that they will investigate the allegations.

The inspection in Bulgaria was ordered following the media reports, the prosecution said in a statement on its website on September 7. The Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office and the National Revenue Agency will look for any information indicating there had been tax evasion or money laundering.

According to the investigation into the “Azerbaijani laundromat”, Mitrev received money from an Azerbaijan firm before he was employed by the EBRD. Mitrev admitted that, but claimed he had received the money as payment for consultancy work on a large hydrotechnical project for an Azerbaijan company and that the sum was declared to Bulgarian tax authorities at the time.

Financial crime investigators in Estonia, a country that was part of the "laundromat" circuit of money laundering according to the investigation, have admitted that transfers from Baku raised alarm bells as early as 2013, but said that attempts to cooperate with Azerbaijani officials failed.

One of the companies involved in the investigation, Baktelecom, has transferred $1.4bn to an Estonian bank account over the years. The company has been linked to First Lady and Azerbaijani Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva.

Mitrev, who is the husband of UNESCO director general Irina Bokova, claimed that the reports were attack on him and his wife, daily Dnevnik reported.

In the meantime, Bulgaria’s Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov issued a statement, in which has expressed concern and ordered an investigation of the case.

Mitrev has served for several years as Bulgaria’s representative on the EBRD board of directors. He was also one of the designers and founders of the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, the Central Depository and the first Stock Exchange and Securities Bill.

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