site.btaAuthorities Freeze or Impound Lv 800,000 from Vote Buyers for First Time Ever

Sofia, April 6 (BTA) - For the first time ever, the Bulgarian
authorities have frozen or impounded over 800,000 leva by
prosecutorial order because there is evidence that the money
would be used to buy votes, the Prosecution reported on Tuesday.
 The impounded cash includes 383,000 leva and some euro, and the
 assets frozen under the Measures against Money Laundering Act
are worth 425,000 leva. Prosecutors have also instituted
pretrial proceedings in 41 cases of suspected violation of
citizens' voting rights in connection with Sunday's
parliamentary elections.

Charges have been brought against 13 persons. Prosecutors have
opened 728 case files concerning violations of election
legislation. An analysis by the National Interdepartmental Unit
Monitoring Violations of Law shows that there have been fewer
alerts about breaches of election rules compared with the
previous parliamentary elections in 2017, when they were 945.
Also, last time there were pretrial proceedings in 99 cases,
compared with the current 41. RI/VE