CMS Expert Guide To Mandatory Reporting Of Criminal Offences For Companies And Their Responsible Persons in Bulgaria

In Bulgaria, when citizens or officials become aware of a crime of a “general nature”, they must immediately notify the pre-trial investigation authority or another state authority. Officials have also the obligation to take the necessary measures to preserve evidence.

Crimes of a general nature are of greater public impact (such as fraud, bribery, money laundering, murder, embezzlement etc.) and are prosecuted ex officio by the public prosecutor's office – i.e. it is not necessary for a victim to file a complaint in order for an investigation to be initiated.

There are also specific provisions in the following areas:

• Money Laundering;, where there is a suspicion and/or awareness of money laundering and/or of the involvement of funds of criminal origin, relevant persons are required to notify promptly the Financial Intelligence Directorate of the State Agency for National Security before the operation or transaction is conducted and to delay the transaction for the requisite time period. Where the persons referred to in Article 4 herein become aware of money laundering or of the involvement of funds of criminal origin, the said persons shall furthermore notify the competent authorities according to the Criminal Procedure Code, the Ministry of the Interior Act and the State Agency for National Security Act.
• Whistleblowing; the obliged entity shall terminate the verification procedure where there are grounds to believe that a criminal offence has been committed; the report and the materials related to it shall forthwith be transmitted to the prosecutor office. Obliged entities under the law are, among others, employers in the private sector with 50 or more workers or employees; and employers in the private sector, regardless of the number of workers or employees, if the activity carried out by them falls within the scope of the acts of the European Union.

When officials become aware of a crime of a general nature, they must immediately notify the pre-trial authority and take the necessary measures to preserve evidence.

There are no explicit provisions regarding who in the company (obliged entity) is responsible for reporting, however, it should be the legal representative of the respective company or an authorised person.

A criminal offence may be reported by filing a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office or with the police.

Although citizens have a duty to report crimes, Bulgarian legislation does not provide any punishment for failure to do so. However, in some cases a person's failure to act/report may be considered in the context of accessory liability.

This would generally not include the immediate family of the suspect.

Under the Bulgarian Protection of Persons Who Report or Publicly Disclose Information on Breaches Act, a person who within the statutory period fails to take the necessary follow-up actions (such as to report a crime) in relation to the report or intentionally delays them is liable to a fine of BGN 400 to BGN 4,000 [1] , unless subject to a more severe penalty. If the failure of reporting is committed by a legal entity the penalty is of BGN 1,000 to BGN 7,000.

According to the Bulgarian Measures Against Money Laundering Act, any person, who commits or tolerates violation of the obligation of reporting in case of suspicion or awareness of money laundering, unless the act constitutes a criminal offence, shall be liable to:

• a fine of BGN 1,000 to BGN 10,000, where the offender is a natural person;
• a penalty of BGN 2,000 to BGN 20,000, where the offender is a legal person or sole trader;
• a penalty of BGN 5,000 to BGN 50,000, where the offender is a person such as credit institution, insurer, exchange agent, leasing company, investment intermediaries, funds etc.

The risks for the company could arise from reputation damage, internal investigation, and pre-trial investigation and investigative measures.

The Protection of Persons Who Report or Publicly Disclose Information on Breaches Act protects the persons in the public and private sectors who report or publicly disclose information about violations of Bulgarian law or acts of the European Union that have come to their attention in the course of or in connection with the performance of their professional or official duties or in any other working context.

Once a criminal offence has been committed, providing assistance or aid to the offender or perpetrator is prohibited and punishable. 

Anyone who helps a person who has committed a crime to avoid detection, shall be punished for personal concealment with imprisonment of up to five years. Anyone who assists the perpetrator of a crime is punished for complicity. There are three forms of complicity: co-perpetrator, instigator, and accessory.