site.btaRoma Leader Tsvetelin Kunchev Definitively Forfeits Lv 1 Mln in Assets

June 23 (BTA) - Roma leader Tsvetelin Kunchev forfeited 1,089,473 leva in assets after the decision for the state to confiscate the assets was upheld by a definitive court ruling, the Counter-corruption and Unlawfully Acquired Assets Forfeiture Commission (CUAAFC) reported on Tuesday. The Sofia City Court, the Sofia District Court and the Plovdiv District Court have imposed security measures to ensure the forfeiture of the assets.

The proceedings against Kunchev were launched by the predecessor of the CUAAFC. In 2016, the Sofia District Court ruled that Kunchev's expenditures in the period from 1987 to 2012 surpassed his income. The court ordered the confiscation of money from Kunchev's payment accounts and deposit accounts and from real estate sales. Three years later, the Sofia Appellate Court upheld the ruling.

Kunchev then lodged an appeal with the Supreme Court of Cassation, but the appeal was not considered, because the Supreme Court handles civil cases only by exception.

As a politician, Kunchev is popular among the Roma community. He sat in the 38th National Assembly (1997-2001). In 1998, he established the Euroroma party and became its leader. In 1999, after a bitter political clash with the then prime minister Ivan Kostov, Kunchev was arrested and sentenced for robbery. He was pardoned by President Georgi Purvanov. After his release, he resumed his position at the helm of Euroroma. NV/VE

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