Bulgarian State Commission on Gambling Faces More Charges

The public prosecution from Bulgaria has discovered that the State Commission on Gambling has received bribe offers from a businessman and detained the former Chairman of the Commission, Ognemir Mitev.

Businessman Vasil Bozhkov offered a bribe of €5k a day to an official at the state regulator. The prosecutor’s office claims that Mitev was part of the businessman’s group and that he did not control the revenue from Bozhkov’s lotteries.

Bozkhov has been accused of being active in a group involved in blackmail, tax crimes, money laundering and coercion, among other things, since the beginning of 2014. The authorities believe that Mitev did not properly check Bozkhov’s gambling business and how the fees were calculated.

“Bozhkov offered a gift of €5k a day to an official of the Gambling Commission, who in turn would submit to the commission proposals for revocation of licences of competing companies,” Siika Mileva, Spokesperson of the Chief Prosecutor, said.