Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Mayor, Your
Excellencies,
First of all I would like to thank for the opportunity to
participate in the International Conference Economy of Crime: Grey
Sector, Trafficking, Corruption.
The initiative of the organizers from the Center for
the Study of Democracy to invite the US Ambassador to Bulgaria,
H.E. James Pardew, as well as the UK Ambassador H.E. Ian Soutar,
and representatives of governmental, political and international
institutions, experts and intellectuals, and provide a platform to
their understandings and ideas is to be welcomed. Curbing crime in
the country is one of the major priorities in the program of the
Bulgarian government and also a task of primary importance to the
Ministry of Interior. It is closely related to the implementation
of the National Strategy for Accession to the European Union and
NATO.
In our work we pay special attention to neutralizing
organized criminal groups, whose actions create potential risks to
the economic security of the country. Our major objectives are:
limiting criminal influence on the financial and economic spheres,
facilitating an improved investment climate in the country and
reducing the damages inflicted on the state budget. In view of
fulfilling its objectives, the efforts of the specialized services
of the Ministry of Interior are focused on limiting corruption in
the authorities responsible for licensing regimes, the
privatization process, and law enforcement institutions dealing
with economic and organized crime.
I daresay, as a result of the measures taken so far
the intensity of the actions of the organized criminal groups is
considerably limited. The perimeter of the grey economy, controlled
by the structures of the organized crime, has been narrowed. The
organized channels and criminal mechanisms used for trafficking and
illegal transactions of excise goods, pirate CDs, household
appliances, etc.
At the same time our specialized services detect new
trends in the work of the organized criminal groups, which bring
forth some additional challenges.
Firstly, organized criminal groups are becoming more
active in the financial sphere. The schemes for money laundering,
capital flight and return to be then invested in the process of
privatization have been refined. Forging false documents and their
illegal usage for financial and bank fraud has increased.
Secondly, the processes of restructuring of the
organized criminal groups and their direction to spheres providing
easy and quick return on investments have intensified. The
conflicts between them, which have arisen on this basis, are mainly
connected with the distribution and re-distribution of the market
spheres and territories, which often results in criminal
offences.
Thirdly, the number of the cases of illegal 'crediting' has
increased. Organized criminal groups are using the weaknesses of
the banking system to direct financial resources to money-lending,
which in most cases ends up with racketeering, blackmailing and
confiscation of borrowers' assets.
Our major conclusions are that the illegal
trafficking in goods creates unfair competition and finances the
grey economy in the country. Through the illegal import of goods
Bulgarian and foreign importing companies are establishing a system
of relationships with distributors and retailers. They are using
the weak points in the customs, financial and criminal justice
systems quite effectively. By corrupting state officials they are
trying to pervade the tax and customs services in order to secure
the contraband channels.
Companies from the duty-free zones of the European
countries are also involved in the criminal schemes for trafficking
of goods. Attempts are made to use forged Euro-certificates for
non-European goods and offshore companies and stores for
distribution to countries, where the origin and price of the goods
are difficult to detect.
During the current year, the structures of the grey
economy and organized criminal groups continued to exercise
corruption pressure on the customs, border police and tax
officials, as well as on the state and local administration bodies.
Numerous acts of corruption related to privatization and
liquidation of companies and enterprises have been detected. These
were linked to attempts at getting a reduced evaluation of assets,
licenses, causing deliberate bankruptcies and various offences
during public procurement procedures. I would like to pay special
attention to the Ministry of Interior's actions for cutting off
trafficking. A few attempts for diverting considerable amount of
spirits through false re-export have been averted. Attempts for
fictitious export and contraband import of fuels by sea or land
have been cut short. New criminal mechanisms for trafficking of
legally produced cigarettes in the west European countries, for
criminal export of fuel by sea and import of nutrition goods and
household appliances have been detected.
Last but not least, the problem of corruption is a
challenge to the politicians, as well as to every state
administration and the law enforcement institutions. Our intentions
and actions are clear and their results are obvious. They are
evident in the programs and the strategic documents of the
government. They provide for a good opportunity for a systematic
work in this area. Our goal is to aid the government as much as we
can in its efforts to enhance the trust in the state institutions
and thus improve the investment climate in the country and attract
foreign investments.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to express my
conviction that in the course of the discussion that will follow
new ideas for improving the legal regulation of the problems of
money laundering, tax and financial crime will be presented. I am
also convinced that they will give additional opportunities for
raising the effectiveness of the work of all state institutions in
countering crime in the economic and financial sphere.
I use the occasion to express my appreciation to the
organizers and initiators of this international conference and to
assure you that the Ministry of Interior will continue to work
actively and in close cooperation with the civil society and the
international institutions for further promoting the effectiveness
of efforts towards countering crime and for covering the criteria
of the European Union and NATO.
I wish you all successful and fruitful work.
Thank you.
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