Police detained four people in a raid in Varna targeting tax crimes in imports from China, interior minister Ivan Demerdzhiev told reporters. Two of them are senior customs officials.
The others are company representatives who, the minister said, took part in the scheme. Goods from China were smuggled into Bulgaria or declared at lower prices than they were worth, and the state budget lost money.
The operation was still under way as Demerdzhiev spoke. He said it is yet to be established exactly how much money was lost, but the damage to the budget is serious. So far there is no indication that anyone gave the scheme political cover, the minister added.
"No one should live under the illusion that an employee of a state body is protected in any way," Demerdzhiev told BNT.
He said the interior ministry will keep every state institution with a risk of corruption under constant watch. "I want to say very clearly that these raids will continue," the minister said.
Updated (05.11, 12:12): Interior minister Ivan Demerdzhiev says 12 people were detained in the raid in Varna, not four as first reported. Four of them are customs officers, two in senior posts. The rest represent companies that took part in the scheme.