HOMELAND SECURITY PLEASE PASS TO SECRET SERVICE EO 12958 DECL: 07/07/2015 TAGS PINR, KCRM, PGOV, EINV, ECON, KCOR, BU, Organized Crime SUBJECT: (U) BULGARIAN ORGANIZED CRIME (C-CN5-00054) REF: AA STATE 99125 BB SOFIA 1046 Classified By: AMBASSADOR JAMES PARDEW, FOR REASON 1.4(C). ¶1. (U) This cable is in response to ref A request for information about organized crime in Bulgaria and the Balkans. Where direct sources are not cited, connections are largely based on information from operational contacts and open-source publications. ----------------------- OVERVIEW AND ACTIVITIES ----------------------- ¶2. (SBU) The strength and immunity from the law of organized crime (OC) groups is arguably the most serious problem in Bulgaria today. OC activities underlie corruption and the ineffectiveness of the legal system in Bulgaria, and inhibit the country,s economic development. Bulgarian OC is particularly involved in international money laundering, drug trafficking, and counterfeiting. OC groups range from local street thugs involved in extortion to sophisticated international narcotic dealers and money launderers. An estimated 118 organized crime groups were operating in Bulgaria at the end of 2004, according to the National Service for Combating Organized Crime (NSBOP) of the Bulgarian Ministry of Interior (MoI), though many of these groups are relatively small and the landscape is dominated by a handful of big players. Organized crime continues to be pervasive in many spheres ...