„What happened yesterday is unprecedented. I don't remember in these 34 years that they arrested the director of “Customs” and his deputy", commented the expert from the Center for the Study of Democracy Tihomir Bezlov.
„Bankova was appointed to “Mchitnitsi” less than three months ago. He doesn't have that much experience. The year 2023 is indicative - what was the state budget, in particular in the part “Customs”. The budget itself is not fulfilled by customs and customs fees at 20%. If there are reforms in "Customs", what have they led to? What are the effects? Why weren't they published earlier”, financier Lubomir Karimanski asked for his part.
Regarding the subject of foreign customs officials at our borders, Karimanski stated: "What we know is from Asen Vassilev and from several interviews given yesterday. There is no official information. There may be benefit and effect from the fact that we will change the customs officers of “Kalotina” and “Captain Andreevo“ with Austrians and British. However, I do not know what the reform is. I was impressed by the rulings of the IC – additional costs of BGN 10 million are approved under the budget of the Ministry of Health in connection with “Captain Andreevo“ and the laboratory. If society wants to trust politicians, these reforms must be discussed with the public."
Bezlov also added: “Nikolay Nikolov – Pascal is a very old figure. His area is cigarettes. If you talk to people in the industry, it's a thing of the past. There are retellings in the media, nothing official.“