CAB trained agency in Sofia

THE Criminal Assets Bureau played a key role in the training of their Bulgarian counterpart body, the Financial Intelligence Agency, it was confirmed yesterday.

The CAB said they had acted in a consultancy capacity with the FIA a little over a year ago as the Bulgarians sought to improve their economic policing wing which is aimed at tackling fraud and financial crime.

Representatives of the CAB travelled to assist their Bulgarian counterparts, while officers from the eastern European country also visited Ireland on a knowledge-gathering exercise.

The fact that FIA and CAB have a long-established relationship is likely to benefit the investigation into alleged money laundering in Bulgaria, a Sofia government official said.

However, the Bulgarian counter-intelligence agent sent to Ireland last week to investigate the possible involvement of Irish-based Bulgarians in the alleged money laundering scheme has yet to meet officially with the gardaí.

The Bulgarian Interior Ministry has taken charge of tracking the activities of figures linked to the investigation here, mainly through the records of the National Border Police Service, which records the passenger lists of all flights into and out of the country.

The FIA, in operation under various guises since the late 90s, is investigating any financial transactions by individuals linked to the probe.

Headed by director Vassil Kirov, the FIA has increased the number of checks conducted each year, while the number of investigations carried out by the body has also risen on an annual basis since 1999.

Meanwhile, the Corporate Commercial Bank in Bulgaria, where Phil Flynn and Ted Cunningham opened bank accounts with €1,000 lodgements during their January visit to Sofia, have said they will launch a legal action after their name became linked with “untrue” statements.

A statement from the bank said that there had been no movement of cash involving either bank account since they were opened. It added that the bank’s reputation had been damaged since Interior Minister Georgi Petkanov spoke about the bank accounts in relation to the ongoing police investigation into the alleged money laundering operation.

The bank’s statement said that some reports in the media propagated “untrue and unchecked information, which is derogatory to the reputation of the bank and the confidence in it”.

“We declare that we will approach Bulgarian National Bank with a view to applying the administrative-penal orders under article 99 of the Law on the Banks and we will seek our rights through the court,” the statement added.

As for the office space rented by the Irish business group in January, in the Lozenetz district of the city, The Irish Examiner was told by city officials yesterday that the identity of the owner of the office and any associated details were confidential.