Bulgaria demands UAE to handover a businessman accused of extortion and money laundering

The Bulgarian Ministry of Justice announced that it has requested the UAE to extradite businessman Vasil Bozkov after charges in absentia, including extortion, exploitation of influence and money laundering.

The Ministry of Justice stated that it had sent the extradition request accompanied by documents in more than two hundred pages translated into the Arabic language to the UAE demanding the handover of the convict. 

Prosecutors said that Bozkov, 63, was arrested in the UAE at the end of January.

Bozkov owns many bookies and gambling companies, a famous football club and an organization that owns a collection of artifacts.

Bulgarian TV reported two days ago, citing unnamed sources, that the UAE authorities had released Bozkov, but prevented him from leaving the country and confiscated his passport.

There is no agreement to extradite the wanted individuals between the two countries, but Bulgaria hopes that its request will receive a response from the UAE.

Over the years, the UAE has become a haven for the corrupt and persons fleeing justice in their countries in recent years.

Last November, he joined the list of corrupt fugitives to the Emirates, the number one wanted in corruption cases in Malaysia, “Le Tic Joe”, who obtained political asylum in Abu Dhabi.

Joe Lu is widely known in Malaysia as the godfather of corruption deals, especially the accused by former Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razzaq and linked to the sovereign fund One Malaysia Development Company, which he believes incurred billions of dollars in money laundering operations that affected several countries including Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

And the American newspaper New York Times, in its report talking about the emigration of millionaires, shed light on the UAE, which it considered a good example of this phenomenon.

The newspaper stated that in 2017, 5 million millionaires fled to the UAE, which led to an increase in the size of its rich residents by 6%, which is the largest gain in the world.