In an interview published in the 23 June 1997 edition of the newspaper Trud, Bulgarian Prime Minister Ivan Kostov, alluding to an organization known as "SIK," made the following statement: "[w]e will absolutely forbid direct relationships between the government and entities like SIK [suspect insurance group], Multigroup, and Overgaz."

For information about a company known as the Security Insurance Company (SIC), which is suspected of having ties to organized crime, see the attached 21 November 1996 Associated Press article.

According to an article in the 26 April 1997 edition of The Economist, Bulgarian Interior Minister Bogomil Bonev put an end to a widespread insurance racket.

An article in the Bulgarian newspaper Kontinent alludes to an unnamed insurance company that "had operated by using threats" (28 May 1997). However, the two above-mentioned articles in The Economist and Kontinent make no reference to any firm by the name of either SIK or SIC.

According to a dispatch from the Bulgarian Telegraphic Agency (BTA) on crime in Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Interior Minister had announced that he intended to have security and insurance firms inspected every week and to authorize the police to seize weapons that had been lawfully obtained by business people and security guards (2 Aug. 1996).

For information on Bulgarian insurance firms that resort to intimidation or are suspected of such practices, consult the attached articles of 18 April 1997 and 7 April 1997 from Khorizont Radio Network, of 21 December 1995 from the Dallas Morning News, of 20 October 1995 from the BTA and of 26 May 1995 from Reuters.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Bulgarian Telegraphic Agency (BTA). 2 August 1996. "Interior Ministry Acts Against Rising Crime." (BBC Summary 2 Aug. 1996/Global News Bank)

The Economist [London]. 26 April 1997. "Bulgaria: Hope at Last." (NEXIS)

Kontinent [Sofia, in Bulgarian]. 28 May 1997. "Bulgaria: Security Chief Reports on Illegal Financial Dealings." (FBIS-EEU-97-148 29 May 1997/WNC)

Trud [Sofia, in Bulgarian]. 23 June 1997. "Bulgaria: Prime Minister Kostov Views Current Issues." (FBIS-EEU-97-177 26 June 1997/WNC)

Attachments

AP Worldstream. 21 November 1996. "Businessman Dead In Apparent Underworld Killing." (NEXIS)

Bulgarian Telegraphic Agency (BTA) [Sofia, in English]. 20 October 1995. "Sandzak; Prime Minister Briefs Parliament on Progress Made in Combating Crime." (BBC Summary 23 Oct. 1995/NEXIS)

Dallas Morning News. 21 December 1995. Gregory Katz. "E. Europe's Underworld Flexes Might Businesses Cite Pressure from Organized Crime." (NEXIS)

Khorizont Radio Network [Sofia, in Bulgarian]. 18 April 1997. "Bulgaria: Interior Minister Reports on 'Rocco' Investigation." (FBIS-EEU-97-108 21 Apr. 1997/WNC)

_____. 7 April 1997. "Bulgaria: Ministry Expels Insurance Firms from Special Border Zone." (FBIS-EEU-97-089 8 Apr. 1997/WNC)

Reuters World Service. 26 May 1995. Gareth Jones. "Organised Crime Threatens Bulgaria's Fragile Economy." (NEXIS)