site.btaBulgaria to Collaborate with US to Prevent and Tackle Serious Crime

The Council of Ministers approved a draft treaty on cooperation with the United States in preventing and combating serious crime, the Government press service reported here on Wednesday.

The draft agreement between the Interior Ministry of Bulgaria, the US Department of Homeland Security and the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement concerns the use of the Biometric Identification Transnational Migration Alert Program (BITMAP) under the Agreement between Bulgaria and the US on strengthening cooperation in preventing and combating serious crime.

The project provides for bilateral cooperation under BITMAP.

Within the framework of the Programme, the Ministry of the Interior will provide the US with information on individuals and citizens of third countries, who have been detained by the Bulgarian police on suspicion of having committed serious criminal and terrorist offences, and especially, of having entered into Bulgaria illegally. The US will conduct a background check on the persons in question, comparing the data obtained with records in the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense databases. In the event of a match, the US will provide Bulgaria with relevant information on the identified person.

The programme aims to contribute to the reduction of the risks accompanying the migratory pressure on Bulgaria by allowing to identify individuals who may pose a danger.

The legal basis for this cooperation is a 2012 agreement between Bulgaria and the US to strengthen their joint efforts to prevent and combat serious crime.