Today, by order of Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov, an operation is underway throughout the country to inspect hospices, homes for the elderly - licensed establishments, or based on signals of unregulated ones, in connection with the war against the "property mafia" declared more than two months ago. This was announced to journalists in parliament by the Minister of Justice Georgi Georgiev, quoted by BTA.
He recalled that the first stage of the fight against property fraud was aimed at fake arbitrations. We have notified the prosecutor's office, there have been arrests in some of the cases, there have been over 60 reports, and the Ministry of Justice has already prepared and will announce for public discussion next week measures to drastically tighten the regime for commercial arbitrations in Bulgaria, the minister explained.
The second stage was the massive operation to check various powers of attorney, in the last two weeks alone, two property frauds were thwarted in Sofia, thanks to the reports and the quick response of the prosecutor's office and the Ministry of Interior, he recalled.
Today, due to the extreme cruelty and inhumanity of the acts we are witnessing towards the most vulnerable - people of the third age, those for whom there is no one to care, placed in various hospices, due to the increased cases of abuse, an inspection is underway by all state institutions - the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Policy, Justice and the Ministry of Interior, so that in the coming weeks all such establishments will be inspected. The goal is to see under what conditions care is provided and whether there are people who, against their will and as a result of various influences, are brought to a state of not being able to take care of their own things, not understanding their actions, and then having their properties literally revoked. According to Georgiev, this is the fourth direction of the “property mafia“. The minister hopes for signals from citizens about various hospices and homes for the elderly operating in their places, with the focus being on illegal such establishments. Inspectors from the Medical Audit and social services have already been working in the field.
I want to give an extremely strong signal – what is being undertaken is not just a sporadic action, but a state policy that aims to break the backbone of the “property mafia“, which has become stronger than we imagined and whose ingenuity amazes even prosecutors, judges and police officers, the minister pointed out. A review of the legislation has already been conducted to determine whether it is necessary to tighten the operating regime for such institutions.
We are not declaring war on hospices and nursing homes, but on the possibility of illegal ones or unscrupulous people, criminals, taking advantage of vulnerable groups, emphasized Georgi Georgiev.
Detailed statistics on average property prices in Bulgaria by city and neighborhood can be seen HERE