site.btaProperty of the Worth of Almost BGN 1,500 Mln May Be Confiscated from Banker Vassilev

Property of the Worth of Almost BGN 1,500 Mln May Be Confiscated from Banker Vassilev

Sofia, March 17 (BTA) - Property of the worth of 1,428,097,218 leva may be confiscated from banker Tsvetan Vassilev, if the Sofia City Court grants a request of the asset forfeiture commission to this end, the commission's Chair Plamen Georgiev told a news conference at the BTA's Press Club on Thursday.

The question is about estates in Sofia, Varna, Sozopol, Tsarevo and Switzerland, automobiles, pictures, etc. This is the first time that a request for confiscation of property of such a big value is being filed, Georgiev said adding that the value may increase in the future.

Vassilev was the majority owner of the failed Corporate Commercial Bank which collapsed in 2014. Bulgaria wants him to be tried for syphoning his own bank but he has so far been avoiding justice and is in Serbia.

On July 28, 2014, the Bulgarian prosecution authorities charged Vassilev with embezzling 206 million leva from Corpbank in his absence and he was put on Interpol's search list.

On September 16, Vassilev turned himself in to Serbian authorities and since then he has had to sign at Belgrade's Central Police Department every day as a precaution that he won't leave the country or go into hiding.