The sources report that two Bulgarian officials were arrested for receiving bribes in bitcoin to issue passports to foreign nationals. Officials were those who requested bribes and punished those who did not pay.
According to local news from NOVA, the submitted court documents show that two accused persons held senior positions in the national agency of Bulgarian citizens abroad. They reportedly received between 5 and 15 bribes a week, starting with “at least” July 2017.
The report, first marked by the Nex Web, clarifies that when people refused to pay bribes, officials seriously postponed the issuance of all necessary documents, making it almost impossible for applicants to obtain their documents when they Needed.
A lawyer representing the defending Parties noted that there was no evidence linking them to illegally issued documents, nor was there any evidence that they had received payments to BTC.
In turn, the accusing Party replied that the authorities had already confiscated the purses in which the bitcoins were stored: “The authorities confiscated Bitcoin purses, which prove that part of the bribe was converted to cryptocurrency. ”
According to the prosecutor’s office, a person who wished to remain anonymous could not receive his documents on request, but as soon as a bribe was paid, he was able to access them. Moreover, the witness, who reportedly held the position of Deputy Director at the National agency, claims to be aware of the existing corruption scheme.
The officials requested bribes, which could amount to 5 000 euros for documents, as the witness claimed that he had paid at least two times. Despite the fact that this is probably the first case of bribery involving cryptocurrency in Bulgaria, it is not the first time that officials are being sued for using bitcoins.
Back in 2014, the U.S. government banned the professor from using a supercomputer for mining Bitcoin. It is noteworthy that at the beginning of this year Russian nuclear scientists were arrested for using powerful machines for the extraction of the flagship cryptocurrency.
