The Sofia Court of Appeal has fully upheld the claim brought by the Commission for Counteracting Corruption and Illegal Assets (CONPI) for the confiscation, for the benefit of the state, of €1,562,865 from a Turkish national. The ruling was issued on October 22, 2026, but is not final and may be appealed before the Supreme Court of Cassation.
According to CONPI, the defendant submitted documents intended to substantiate the lawful origin of the funds. Checks carried out through the competent Ukrainian authorities established that the person identified as having performed the notarizations was not listed in the Ukrainian register of notaries.
Doubts surrounding a loan agreement
The case also examined documents relating to a loan agreement under which a company in Ukraine allegedly provided the money. No financial reports filed, declared income or bank accounts opened during the company’s existence were established for the company.
In its reasoning, the court held that the documents submitted did not prove that a transaction had actually taken place and could not certify the lawful origin of the sum. The Court of Appeal described it as “illogical from a practical standpoint” for a company without assets or available capital to provide an individual with an exceptionally large amount of cash.
Information about a conviction and registrations
A conviction under Article 251 of the Criminal Code, related to undeclared funds, was also of significant importance to the ruling. The case file also contained information about the defendant’s registration in Romania for forgery, as well as criminal records in Turkey for migrant trafficking.
The court held that the conviction, considered together with the remaining evidence, supported the conclusion that the assets had an unlawful origin. This is a judicial finding in the specific civil proceedings and does not constitute the final conclusion of all possible proceedings against the defendant.
The ruling may be appealed before the Supreme Court of Cassation within one month of its service, CONPI announced. Until the highest court issues its ruling, the confiscation of the funds is not final.
Sources: btvnovinite.bg