site.btaTermination of Criminal Proceedings Will not Preclude Forfeiture Claims

109 POLITICS - COUNTER-CORRUPTION ACT - AMENDMENTS - ADOPTED

Termination of Criminal Proceedings
Will not Preclude
Forfeiture Claims


Sofia, December 20 (BTA) - The National Assembly Thursday adopted conclusively draft amendments to the Counter-Corruption and Unlawfully Acquired Asset Forfeiture (CCUAAF) Act, which envisage that the CCUAAF Commission will not lose its right to a forfeiture claim in case of termination of the criminal proceedings or acquittal by the court. The bill was adopted urgently in relation to a decision of the Supreme Court of Cassation.

The amendments will not have a retroactive effect, Parliament also decided.

The opposition BSP for Bulgaria voted against the bill, describing it as a disgrace to the constitutional order and a rejection of the rule of law. MP Valeri Zhablyanov said that because of the amendments, a person acquitted by the court can keep getting sanctioned. MP Krassimir Yankov commented that the CCUAAF Commission has been turned into an instrument for expropriation from persons inconvenient to the system.

LI/DS