Scandal In Bulgaria: Officials Arrested For Selling Passports In Exchange For Bitcoin

A huge scandal emerged in Bulgaria when authorities arrested three government officials for selling passports in exchange for bitcoin, therefore we read more of that story in today’s crypto news.

The officials were selling passports to foreigners mostly people from Ukraine, Macedonia, Moldova and other countries in Eastern Europe in exchange for bitcoin. The passports were authorized by Bulgarian officials, more precisely Bulgarian State Agency for Bulgarian Matters Abroad Peter Haralampiev, General Secretary Krasimir Tomov and another member of the agency Mark Stoyov.

The Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev stated:

 “Peter Haralampiev, Krasimir Tomov, and Mark Stoyov have been arrested for fraud with the issuance of Bulgarian passports to Ukrainian, Moldovan and Macedonian citizens.”

The lawyers of the accused officials denied that their clients had anything to do with this fraud but the Prosecutor General, however, demands that the lawyers must provide evidence in order to prove that isn’t the case. The lawyers on the other hand, still haven’t provided the court with reliable evidence.

Some people even expected a resignation from the Vice Prime Minister of Bulgaria Valeri Simeonov because of the level of corruption in the agency but he clearly noted that he doesn’t have such intentions.

Despite the government officials involved in such criminal activities, 20 other people were detained in Bulgaria for selling passports to citizens in Ukraine, Moldova, and Macedonia while receiving more than $5,000 for a single document.

Since Bulgaria is a member of the European Union, the passport allows people to live, travel and work easily in any other EU country without any restrictions unlike the citizens from the above-mentioned countries.