A new scam with cars leased abroad, which are imported and sold in our country. Or are placed in car morgues. A family of doctors from Botevgrad are left without their car four years later, when it is declared wanted by the car's owner, Nova TV reports.
The Dimitrov family are doctors from Botevgrad. 4 years ago they decided to buy a car. They looked at the ads on one of the most popular sites and found their car. It was in a car dealership in Vratsa. They approved it live. And they closed the deal.
"Our car was brought to Botevgrad. It had a temporary registration. We bought it from a company. We went to the Sofia regional traffic police, where it was checked and registered in the name of my wife's company," says Vasil Dimitrov.
According to him, the police checked the frame and engine numbers. The uniformed officers said there was no problem and registered the car.
The family paid 26,500 leva for the car. The contract is with the company "Invest Cars Group". The car is registered at the Vratsa traffic police, where it receives temporary numbers. And then it goes through the channels of the Sofia Regional Traffic Police, where it receives the final registration. The family uses it without any problems or indications of such until February last year.
"It happened on February 20. We have been paying insurance, taxes for four years, we even had an accident - a traffic accident. There has never been a problem. And on February 20, officers from the Botevgrad Police Department arrived and told us that this car had a problem, that it had been stolen and had to be seized for inspection. The car was wanted by Interpol. They took it with only a letter of voluntary surrender. And we have no more information from anyone," Dimitrov said.
"They said that the car was wanted by Interpol and that I had to sign a protocol that I was voluntarily surrendering it," his wife Ivanka explained.
The family says that the uniformed officers did not present any documents - there was not even an order. "That puzzled me. Then they seized it and parked it in the police station garage and we waited for the development of events. They said that they would inform us within 6 months and we learned on May 21 that the car was not in Bulgaria - it had been handed over to a company in Dobrich. They were authorized to give them the car," the victims say.
After the family voluntarily handed over the car, they no longer received any information about it. The NOVA team contacted the police to find out details about the registration of the stolen car.
"The car was identified, including the frame, and whether it was wanted in the Schengen system. At the date of registration, the same car was not wanted and it was registered. On February 14, 2025, the car was declared wanted in the information system," explained Vladislav Pavlikyanov, head of the "Traffic Police" at the ODMVR-Sofia.
The search was initiated by Spain, the uniformed officer added. According to him, 4 years is a long time for someone to remember that their car was stolen. "When we register cars, we send the files to the state and the authorities notify us. Back then, there was no such problem", emphasized Pavlikyanov.
The car dealership from which the car was purchased is "Auto Perfect 1" in Vratsa. Our team went to a place where they looked for the owner. But they received an answer from a man at the car dealership: "He's not there. I'm looking for him too".
In his haste to leave after seeing our team, a man - who introduced himself as a friend of the car dealership owner - left two cars with running engines, and the car dealership has no security.
The team waited for us at the location, but the owner never came. We returned half an hour later. The car dealership is now closed.
Hours later, the owner calls us back, after initially not answering our calls.
Should we meet?
- What's bothering you?
I have no concerns.
- You obviously have concerns. Tell me when is convenient for you?
I don't want to meet.
- Do you work with the company "Invest Cars Group"?
If the car was theirs, I act as an intermediary. Then you're looking for them. You're not looking for me. I took a 100 leva commission.
The company "Invest Cars Group" is registered in Sofia in an apartment in a gated community. It turns out that tenants live at the address. We talk to a security guard who claims that a family from Turkey lives in the apartment.
The owner also has another company on "Sheinovo" Street.
The victims filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office. However, both the prosecutor's office in Botevgrad and the District Prosecutor's Office in Sofia refused to initiate pre-trial proceedings in the case. There was no crime.
"In this particular case, the car cannot be seized, as the plaintiff wants, since there is no dispute over ownership. Undoubtedly, during the course of the inspection, it was established who the owner of the car is and it was returned to him accordingly. In the present case, the plaintiff is not the full owner of the car, but has become a victim of fraud, since she acquired a stolen car", the Sofia District Prosecutor's Office stated in a statement to NOVA.
The television station has sent an invitation for an interview with the prosecutors who issued these refusals. But it was not honored.
The car was owned by a Spanish commercial company, which had leased it to an individual.
"They called me to the "Economic Police" and it turned out that this company has 6-7 more cars. It's clearly a scheme," says Vasil Dimitrov.
"The car was most likely bought on lease. There is such a scheme. The installments and payment are interrupted and it arrives in Bulgaria with other documents," explains Pavlikyanov.
It turns out that this is one of the newest fraudulent schemes. Importing leased cars from abroad and selling them in our country. Over 50 cases of imported leased cars from abroad have already been registered in the country, the national police also note.
"The scheme is such that, for example, people with low social status are brought into a certain country. They register at an address, have social security, that they work - and after a few months this person buys two or three leased cars. Then these cars are brought to our country and then they clearly have different schemes to sell them on the market", emphasized Svilen Trifonov, head of the "Vehicle Crimes" sector - General Directorate of the National Police.
Some of the cars are for sale, while others go to car morgues for parts.
"A month ago, in two car morgues, we found 200 cars from other countries that had been dismantled", added Trifonov.
The creation of a single international register of leased cars is also being discussed in order to close this possibility of fraud. In order not to fall into such a scheme, conduct thorough checks when buying a car, advise the police. And keep one thing in mind if the price is greatly understated.
"When this car is purchased for an amount twice lower than the market price - this should draw the owners' attention. "They can't take a car worth 50 thousand euros for 26 thousand euros," Pavlikyanov is categorical.
The Dimitrov family is left without the car, their savings and without any compensation. But that's not the only reason they are disappointed. "Since we are citizens of the Republic of Bulgaria, the prosecutor's office must protect its citizens," they claim.