site.btaPolice Detain Eight People for Alleged Property Fraud

Eight people have been detained in an operation by the Sofia police for alleged property fraud, Chief Commissioner Lyubomir Nikolov, head of the Sofia Directorate of Interior, reported during a press conference held jointly with the prosecution service and with Minister of Justice Georgi Georgiev.

Georgiev said that he is counting on the Interior Ministry and the prosecution service to get to all participants in the scheme including the mastermind behind this "complex legal operation."

The detainees' ages range from 44 to 78. Three of them have criminal records. The operation came to be after several months of work done by the Economic Police.

The operation involved numerous searches. The evidence collected suggests that bogus contracts were drawn up to create the illusion that property owners were willing to sell their properties. The contracts stated that potential cases of disagreement would be settled in arbitration, which is a new development in property fraud, according to the prosecution. The victims of this type of fraud tend to be socially vulnerable people.

A check is being conducted of the private enforcement agent handling of the case, as well as into the Sofia City Court, Georgiev said. He advocated tightening the rules on arbitrations, adding that he would also aim to prepare legal amendments, so that similar cases do not take place again.