Corporate Commercial Bank AD ( Bulgarian : „Корпоративна търговска банка“ АД ), commonly called Corpbank , was a Bulgarian bank. Corpbank was a universal bank, serving both as a traditional commercial bank, as well as an investment bank.
116-645: According to official data from the Bulgarian National Bank (Bulgaria's central bank) at the end of November 2013, Corpbank was the fourth largest bank in Bulgaria in terms of assets, third in terms of net profit, and first in terms of deposit growth. Following a bank run in June 2014, which many believe was artificially induced, the bank requested special supervision by the Bulgarian National Bank. Its license
232-610: A buyout of Vivacom, after which Vivacom went heavily into debt. Vasilev spotted an opportunity and raised the capital to purchase the company. At one point, Forbes magazine ranked Vasilev as the second-most influential man in Bulgaria. By 2014, Corpbank was Bulgaria's fourth-largest bank, and it had an extensive portfolio of companies that it owned or partially-owned. Corpbank was the only bank in Bulgaria investing in start-ups and entrepreneurs; as such, its profits and power grew. Because of its growth, wealth, and power, in April 2014 one of
348-409: A performance bond . An injunction or performance bond ensures that there is something to seize in the event of a guilty verdict. This provision prevented the owners of Mafia -related shell corporations from absconding with assets. In many cases, the threat of a RICO indictment can force defendants to plead guilty to lesser charges, in part because the seizure of assets would make it difficult to pay
464-822: A RICO indictment." John Gotti and Frank Locascio were convicted on April 2, 1992, under the RICO Act and later sentenced to life in prison. After the 1998 simultaneous bombings of the US Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, the US Department of Justice sued Osama bin Laden in absentia under the RICO statute. A 2004 documentary by BBC filmmaker Adam Curtis called The Power of Nightmares argued controversially that in order to prosecute bin Laden in absentia, U.S. prosecutors had to prove that he
580-527: A bank run in the same period. According to Forbes, "Paying off depositors was therefore impossible. But reopening the bank was not an option either, since that would simply re-start the run. Therefore, the BNB kept the bank "on ice"." In July 2014, Plamen Oresharski 's government resigned and President Rosen Plevneliev appointed a caretaker government led by Georgi Bliznashki in August 2014. Important decisions regarding
696-460: A carefully worded plea, Drexel said it was "not in a position to dispute the allegations" made by the Government. If Drexel had been indicted under RICO statutes, it would have had to post a performance bond of up to $ 1 billion to avoid having its assets frozen. That would have taken precedence over all of the firm's other obligations, including the loans that provided 96 percent of its capital base. If
812-559: A civil RICO case naming 30 defendants who were also implicated in the Iran-Contra scandal that they were also part of a conspiracy behind the La Penca bombing . The suit, titled Avirgan v Hull named several Central Intelligence Agency figures and accused them of participating in illegal political assassinations, as well as arms and drug trafficking. The suit was eventually dismissed in 1989, and lead attorney Daniel Sheehan alleged members of
928-530: A conflict with the political mafia ruling the country, which has been blackmailing and threatening me for many years." In addition, Bulgaria's government denied shareholders, including the State General Reserve Fund Oman, the right to bail out the bank. Subsequently, the Bulgarian courts did not allow the shareholders and the depositors to challenge the withdrawal of the bank's license. Vasilev and
1044-471: A counterfeiting and laundering operation. The FBI began to investigate the group using RICO following the assassination of Jewish radio host Alan Berg on June 18, 1984, and the arrest of member Tom Martinez, for using counterfeit bills to buy liquor. Martinez informed on The Order and RICO was used by the FBI to bring 10 members of The Order to trial and achieved conviction of racketeering and conspiracy charges. Over
1160-532: A day. Half of the loans were not well secured." Vasilev himself has argued that the bank used special purpose entities, which were controlled by the bank, to finance projects. Meanwhile, The Organized and Corruption Reporting Project reported that Bulgaria's prosecution destroyed thousands of documents related to the Corporate Commercial Bank case after investigator Boyko Atanasov gave an interview to investigative media Bivol.bg in which he claimed there
1276-475: A defense attorney . Despite its harsh provisions, a RICO-related charge is considered easy to prove in court because it focuses on patterns of behavior as opposed to criminal acts. There must be one of four specified relationships between the defendant(s) and the enterprise. Either the defendant(s): The US Supreme Court noted that a commentator had used the terms "prize", "instrument", "victim", or "perpetrator" for these four relationships. RICO also permits
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#17330929370011392-700: A famous cutting horse . Cauble was convicted in January 1982 on ten counts: two counts of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act statute (RICO), conspiracy to violate RICO, three violations of the Interstate Commerce Travel Act , and four counts of misapplication of bank funds. He was sentenced to ten concurrent terms of five years. He completed his prison term, was released in September 1987, and died in 2003. Three books about
1508-607: A gang of postal burglars and a Nevada fence collaborated criminally in an organized crime fashion. The case did not involve a Mafia crime family. Subsequently, the US Attorney's office for the Eastern District of Arkansas used the RICO Act on October 2, 1978, to indict officers of Local 1292 of the Laborers International Union of North America. Special Assistant United States Attorney, Samuel A. Perroni, prosecuted
1624-520: A later deputy chief of the criminal division for the Southern District of New York and later managing director in the legal department at Goldman Sachs . Time magazine called the "Case of Cases" possibly "the most significant assault on the infrastructure of organized crime since the high command of the Chicago Mafia was swept away in 1943" and quoted Giuliani's stated intention: "Our approach
1740-407: A motion to dismiss the superseding indictment, and the first RICO trial commenced on March 13, 1978. The jury convicted the four appellants and another corporation on both the conspiracy and racketeering counts. In May 1979, prosecutor Mark L. Webb, Northern District of California, conducted RICO trial, United States v. Sam Bailey Gang . The successful prosecution used the RICO statute to allege that
1856-431: A panic, known as a " run on a bank ". At the time, Bulgaria's central bank, Bulgarian National Bank , said runs on Corpbank were part of a "deliberate and systematic attempt to destabilise Bulgaria's banking system" by criminals using emails and texts. The messages urged people to withdraw their money from Corpbank and other large banks. It wasn't until later that the Bulgarian government blamed Vasilev himself for failure of
1972-420: A pattern are called "predicate" offenses. Predicate acts are related if they "have the same or similar purposes, results, participants, victims, or methods of commission, or otherwise are interrelated by distinguishing characteristics and are not isolated events." Continuity is both a closed and open ended concept, referring to either a closed period of conduct, or to past conduct that by its nature projects into
2088-675: A plan to artificially bankrupt Corporate Commercial Bank, so that its assets could be stolen. International depositors have submitted a claim under the US Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Delyan Peevski, the Bulgarian National Bank and others: the claimants submit the defendants engaged in fraud to deviate assets from Corporate Commercial Bank. In 2012, Vasilev bought
2204-435: A private individual "damaged in his business or property" by a "racketeer" to file a civil suit . The plaintiff must prove the existence of an "enterprise." The defendant(s) are not the enterprise; in other words, the defendant(s) and the enterprise are not one and the same. A civil RICO action can be filed in state or federal court . Both the criminal and the civil components allow the recovery of treble damages (triple
2320-551: A stake in Vivacom , which is the brand name of the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company EAD (BTC). Vivacom is the largest telecommunications company in Bulgaria. It is the leading market provider in a variety of telecommunications services, including landline , mobile , Internet, radio, and TV. Around 3,500 work for Vivacom, and it is headquartered in Bulgaria's capital, Sofia . Back in 2007, AIG executed
2436-556: A very high level of security. In 2005, amendments were made to the Law on the BNB, which ensured the institutional, functional, financial and personal independence of the BNB, changed the core purpose of the Bank, and expressly prohibited the central bank from providing funding to public institutions. On 1 January 2007, Bulgaria joined the European Union, and ever since the BNB has been a member of
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#17330929370012552-604: A welding supply company, and oil and gas holdings. The company's worth was estimated at $ 80 million. However, the government sold their interest back to the other partners (Cauble's wife and son) for an estimated $ 12 million. In 1979, the United States Federal Government went after Sonny Barger and several members and associates of the Oakland chapter of the Hells Angels using RICO. In United States vs. Barger ,
2668-502: A wide range of bank services for both individual and corporate clients. According to its experts, the competitiveness of Corpbank is due to a number of factors among which: understanding of the target markets and focus on export oriented companies. The stable client base is due to the long-term relations with leading companies in the spheres of trade, energy and utility services, construction, etc. Corpbank conducts its corporate social responsibility by supporting initiatives and projects in
2784-438: Is equivalent to $ 1.3 billion US dollars. Vasilev blames the failure of the bank on a plot hatched by his competitors and the government, ultimately to gain control over wealthy assets of Corporate Commercial Bank, such as the telecommunications company Vivacom . Media reports suggest that key assets of Corporate Commercial Bank have been deviated after the bank's closure by Biser Lazov , the main witness against Vasilev. Vassilev
2900-540: Is implicated in the planning and organization of the bankruptcy of the bank. Yordan Tsonev, member of the temporary committee from the DPS, also argued: "MRF is motivated to reveal the whole truth about Corporate Commercial Bank. Delyan Peevski has never been a shareholder in this bank, has never been involved in the bank's management, he and his family have returned all their loans to a penny. He has no preferential deposits and has no relation to this bank. Corporate Commercial Bank
3016-575: Is not based on real facts. Subsequently, members of the committee continued to assert Vasilev's guilt in public statements. In 2016, Desislava Atanasova argued: "The main objective of the committee was to highlight the whole process, whether this bank was operating normally or as a pyramid, which is undoubtedly proven." "With the report of the Temporary Parliamentary Committee assigned with investigating what has happened in Corporate Commercial Bank, several myths have been broken. Among them
3132-665: Is that the bank could have been saved last year, as BNB Governor Ivan Iskrov says. "How can one institution be saved that is minus 4 billion levs?" Yet, Martin Dimitrov , member of Democratic Bulgaria, has raised awareness that exactly following the bankruptcy of Corporate Commercial Bank, the Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank Ivan Iskrov received extraordinary bonuses that are equivalent to at least 50% of his yearly salary. According to journalist Ivan Bakalov, Iskrov
3248-444: Is the biggest financial fraud in the new Bulgarian history, which should also be compared worldwide. Corporate Commercial Bank for the past few years was not a bank, but rather a personal portfolio of the main shareholder. The bank distributed loans to companies that were recently created or could not afford to settle their contributions. For 116 million leva there are no documents as to how credits were granted. Others were given only for
3364-464: Is the head of a criminal organization responsible for the bombings. They find a former associate of bin Laden, Jamal al-Fadl, and pay him to testify that bin Laden is the head of a massive terrorist organization called " al-Qaeda ," which satisfied the requirements of the RICO statute, but that in actuality, a formal terrorist organization named "Al Qaeda" did not exist. In 1999 the Rampart scandal broke in
3480-488: Is the work of Ivan Penkov and Dechko Uzunov . Source: 42°41′47″N 23°19′31″E / 42.69639°N 23.32528°E / 42.69639; 23.32528 Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations ( RICO ) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization . RICO
3596-475: Is to wipe out the five families." Three heads of the Five Families were sentenced to 100 years in prison on January 13, 1987. The Genovese and Colombo leaders, Tony Salerno and Carmine Persico received additional sentences in separate trials, with 70-year and 39-year sentences to run consecutively. The Gambino crime family boss Paul Castellano and his underboss , Thomas Bilotti , were murdered on
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3712-532: The International Longshoremen's Association . During the 1980s and the 1990s, federal prosecutors used the law to bring charges against several Mafia figures. In 1985, United States Attorney Rudy Giuliani (who would be indicted under Georgia RICO laws in August 2023 ) indicted 11 organized crime figures in United States v. Anthony Salerno, et al , also known as Mafia Commission Trial . Using
3828-568: The Republic of Bulgaria . It has also been Bulgaria's national competent authority within European Banking Supervision since 2020. Headquartered in Sofia , the bank was established in 1879. It is the 13th-oldest continuously existing central bank in the world. The bank has a key role in the Bulgarian economy. An independent institution responsible for issuing all banknotes and coins in
3944-726: The US Department of Justice 's Operation Family Secrets indicted 14 Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, or the Organization) members and associates under RICO predicates. Five defendants were convicted of RICO violations and other crimes. Six pleaded guilty, two died before trial, and one was too sick to be tried. In 2005, a federal jury ordered Fasano to pay $ 500,000 under RICO for illegally helping
4060-555: The 2013 Investment intermediary with the highest revenue on the BSE – Sofia award. In the beginning of 2012 Corpbank began publishing Attitudes & Altitudes – Quarterly Economic Review of Corpbank. The publication has a Bulgarian and an English version. The publication is prepared by students from the University of National and World Economy and academicians from the university. The publication conducts an economic review of various sectors of
4176-661: The BNB superseded the previous one; it reorganised the monetary system, and from 1 July a currency board arrangement was put in place. At first, the Bulgarian Lev was pegged to the Deutsche Mark, and from 1999 – to the Euro, at the rate of 1.95583 Leva for 1 Euro. Later in the same year the Bulgarian Lev was re-denominated. In 1998, the BNB Printing Works was opened for business, and it began the production of banknotes and bonds with
4292-450: The BNB was a state-owned central bank, subject to the oversight of the Minister of Finance, which serviced the state budget and the cash activities of the Government and carried out banking transactions typical of a commercial bank, without having the right to print or introduce banknotes into circulation. The Law on the foundation of the BNB and the new Charter, both passed in 1885, reorganised
4408-548: The Bank made efforts to restore its value. In 1928, Bulgaria was granted a large "Stabilisation Loan" coordinated by the Economic and Financial Organization of the League of Nations . This was intended to stabilise the Lev, to reinforce the capital stock of the BNB, and to liquidate the Government's debt to the Bank. Two new laws were passed for the same purpose – the Law on the BNB, which made
4524-466: The Bank, granting it monopoly of note issue. Later in the same year, the Bank issued the first Bulgarian banknotes. By the outbreak of the Balkan War (1912), the BNB gained much experience as a bank of issue and strengthened its independence. Apart from being the major lending centre in Bulgaria, it became the regulator of the monetary system, clearing the cash circulation of foreign coins and coping with
4640-464: The Bulgarian banking system to the market economy principles and of the BNB to the independent central bank principles became possible only in 1991 when two basic laws came into effect – the Commerce Law, which brought back the legal foundations of commercial banking, and the new Law on the BNB, which restored the Bank's autonomy and gave it the responsibility for supervising banks. In 1997 another Law on
4756-458: The Bulgarian court forced President Radev to make the minutes public. In late 2014, the bank collapsed which caused the largest financial crisis in Bulgaria since the 1990s. Bulgaria's central bank, Bulgarian National Bank , then took control over the bank. Corpbank was officially shut down and its assets taken over by the Bulgarian National Bank in July 2014. According to media reports at that time,
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4872-491: The Bulgarian economy. It also contains interviews with experts and business leaders working in the sector that is covered in the each issue. Corpbank's headquarters is located at 10 Graf Ignatiev St. The headquarters of the Bulgarian Commercial Bank, the local bank with the largest capital at the time, was located in the same building from the end of the 19th century until the beginning of the 20th. The project for
4988-530: The Charter of the Bulgarian National Bank. On 4 April 1879, the first BNB Governor was appointed, on 23 May the Bank was officially opened, and on 6 June it carried out its first banking operation. The Law on the right to mint coins in the Principality was passed in 1880, and it instituted the Bulgarian national currency, the Lev. The following year, Bulgaria minted its first coins of 2, 5 and 10 stotinki . Initially,
5104-507: The Deputy Chief's office at City Hall. The Order was an American far-right terrorist group active from September 1983 to December 1984. Their intention was to precipitate the collapse of the federal Government or Zionist Occupation Government (ZOG) which they perceived as illegitimate. Their intention was to do so via a campaign of bombings and assassinations. However, in order to fund their actions they turned to armoured car robbery and
5220-533: The European System of Central Banks. The bank is organised into three departments: The Bulgarian National Bank's headquarters in Sofia are located on the central Battenberg Square . The current edifice was commissioned to renowned architects Ivan Vasilyov and Dimitar Tsolov and built between 1934 and 1939 in the non-decorative Neoclassical style of the time. It spreads over an area of 3,700 m and has four overground and three underground storeys. Its interior
5336-609: The Iran-Contra enterprise were behind the assassination of judge Robert Vance who was expected to reverse the dismissal. G. Robert Blakey stated it was the best-charged RICO case he had seen, and the litigation spawned a national fundraising effort. In 1990, Bruce Springsteen and Bonnie Raitt held a benefit concert to support the litigation. A 500-page affadaivit filed in December 1986 was also published as "The Shadow Government." On March 29, 1989, American financier Michael Milken
5452-573: The Italian insurance holding Generali Group) acquired a minority stake in Corpbank. In 2013, 9.9% of the bank was acquired by one of the biggest banks in Russia, VTB Capital . At the beginning of 2014, Corpbank signed an agreement with Credit Agricole S.A., France, to acquire 100% of the shares of Credit Agricole Bulgaria EAD's capital. The completion of the acquisition was expected to be done after an approval from
5568-563: The Los Angeles Police Department exposing widespread criminal activity within the department's anti-gang unit called CRASH. 70 officers were initially implicated in planting evidence, dealing drugs, bank robbery, and unlawful killings and beatings. In 2000, Federal District judge William Rea ruled the RICO statute could be used to name the entire LAPD as a criminal enterprise for individuals suing it over police brutality and misconduct. Over 140 civil RICO lawsuits were filed against
5684-491: The RICO Act against MLB commissioner Bud Selig and former Expos owner Jeffrey Loria , claiming that Selig and Loria deliberately conspired to devalue the team for personal benefit in preparation for a move. If found liable, Major League Baseball could have been responsible for up to $ 300 million in punitive damages . The case lasted two years, successfully stalling the Expos' move to Washington or contraction during that time. It
5800-472: The RICO Act, Giuliani charged the heads of New York's so-called " Five Families " with extortion , labor racketeering, and murder for hire . Three Assistant United States Attorneys assisted in the trial: Michael Chertoff , the eventual second United States Secretary of Homeland Security and co-author of the Patriot Act ; John Savarese, later a partner at Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz ; and Gil Childers,
5916-661: The State General Reserve of the Sultanate of Oman, and the depositors of Corporate Commercial Bank appealed the decision before the Supreme Administrative Court of Bulgaria . The appeal was rejected with the argument that none of them had a "legal interest" in appealing the decision. One of the judges dissented based on case law by the European Court of Human Rights against Bulgaria. The State General Reserve of
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#17330929370016032-485: The Sultanate of Oman lodged a claim against Bulgaria for expropriation and violation of investor rights in breach of the Bulgaria-Oman Bilateral Investment Treaty . Vasilev, the management, and the depositors of Corporate Commercial Bank have lodged claims before the European Court of Human Rights . In 2022, the European Court of Human Rights held the bank's license was revoked in violation of
6148-456: The amount of actual/compensatory damages). Although its primary intent was to deal with organized crime , Blakey said that Congress never intended it merely to apply to the Mob . He once told Time , "We don't want one set of rules for people whose collars are blue or whose names end in vowels, and another set for those whose collars are white and have Ivy League diplomas." On December 1, 1977,
6264-418: The bank were evaluated. They raised awareness about potential conflict of interest of the companies vested with the task to evaluate the bank's assets after its closure. The temporary committee released a report within four months after it was constituted and unequivocally put the blame for the failure of Corporate Commercial Bank on Tsvetan Vasilev. Depositors claim that the report by the temporary committee
6380-510: The bank's creditors in the insolvency proceedings. In recent public opinion polls, 70% of the respondents said they believed Corporate Commercial Bank was purposefully bankrupted by the government, so that its assets could be plundered. In November 2017, the NGO sent a letter to the Bulgarian President asking him for support in their fight for justice against "the corrupt executive and judiciary,
6496-449: The bank. Typically, rumors that depositors' money is unsafe is how bank runs start. In the case of Corpbank, several Bulgarian media outlets ran stories accusing Vasilev of trying to organize the murder of Peevski. Prosecutors raided companies affiliated with Corpbank. They confiscated financial documents from those companies. Ultimately, the attempted murder charge was dropped in court. But before that happened, TV stations ran live feeds of
6612-640: The banking system was transformed on the Soviet model, and thus operated until the late 1980s. The BNB was entrusted to provide all financial services to the newly created overcentralised planned economy. The Bank too was obliged to directly lend to the Government and the economy, being directly subordinated to the Council of Ministers and the Minister of Finance. In 1952, the Bulgarian Mint was set up and it started minting circulation and commemorative coins. The return of
6728-454: The bond ever had to be paid, its shareholders would have been practically wiped out. Since banks will not extend credit to a firm indicted under RICO, an indictment would have likely put Drexel out of business. By at least one estimate, a RICO indictment would have destroyed the firm within a month. Years later, Drexel President and CEO Fred Joseph said that Drexel had no choice but to plead guilty because "a financial institution cannot survive
6844-512: The building was made in 1921 by Georgi Fingov, Dimo Nichev, and Nikola Yurukov from the Fingov, Nichev, and Apostolov architectural studio. The building was built in a baroque style which was typical for the beginning of the 20th century. Corpbank has preserved the authentic exterior and interior of the building to a great degree and that is why the building was named as a cultural heritage in 1978. The eminent Bulgarian banker and social figure Atanas Burov
6960-722: The country, BNB is tasked with safekeeping the government's currency reserves. It is also the sole owner of the Bulgarian Mint . Since 1 October 2007, it has been a member of the European System of Central Banks . The governor of the BNB is a member of the General Assembly of the European Central Bank . On 25 January 1879, the Russian Imperial Commissar in Bulgaria, Knyaz Alexander Dondukov-Korsakov, approved
7076-406: The course of The Order's activities they had distributed millions of dollars to the wider far-right movement and Operation Clean Sweep used RICO to bring 14 leading members of the far-right to trial on charges of seditious conspiracy at Fort Smith , alleging their receipt of The Order's funds as connection to their attempt to overthrow the federal government. In 1986, the Christic Institute filed
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#17330929370017192-467: The death penalty for the murder of Bonanno caporegime Gerlando Sciascia , that case severed to be tried separately), arson, extortion, loansharking, illegal gambling, and money laundering. After deliberating for five days, the jury found Massino guilty of all 11 counts on July 30, 2004. His sentencing was initially scheduled for October 12, and he was expected to receive a sentence of life imprisonment with no possibility of parole. The jury also approved
7308-404: The decision to take Corporate Commercial Bank down was politically motivated and that government institutions, including the Bulgarian National Bank and the Bulgarian prosecution purposefully destroyed the bank through accounting tricks and forged evidence. The president of the NGO "We, the Citizens" has also drawn attention to the various schemes employed by the government against the interests of
7424-427: The department. In July 2001, US District Judge Gary A. Feess said that the plaintiffs did not have standing to sue the LAPD under RICO, because they were alleging personal injuries rather than economic or property damage. In 2001, Major League Baseball team owners voted to eliminate two teams , presumably the Minnesota Twins and Montreal Expos . In 2002, the former minority owners of the Expos filed charges under
7540-419: The depositors have submitted claims against Bulgaria before the European Court of Human Rights . In March 2016, the Bulgarian government (through the Commission for Illegal Assets Forfeiture (CIAF)) filed a lawsuit against Vasilev as the main shareholder of Corpbank. The lawsuit accuses Vasilev of using bank money to personally acquire assets and property. The government's lawsuit seeks 2.2 billion leva , which
7656-405: The effective date of this chapter and the last of which occurred within ten years (excluding any period of imprisonment) after the commission of a prior act of racketeering activity. The US Supreme Court has instructed federal courts to follow the continuity-plus-relationship test in order to determine whether the facts of a specific case give rise to an established pattern. The illegal acts forming
7772-399: The fate of Corporate Commercial Bank and the stability of the banking system were taken at meetings organized by President Plevneliev. However, both President Plevneliev and his successor President Rumen Radev refused to make the minutes of these meetings public. After numerous claims against the Presidency by journalists and civil activists pursuant to the Law on Access to Public Information,
7888-433: The federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Louisiana indicted thirteen defendants, Robert J. L'Hoste & Company, Inc. for conspiracy and racketeering activity. After the defendants moved to dismiss the indictment for overbreadth and vagueness, the grand jury returned a superseding indictment on February 27, 1978, charging the same offenses and naming eleven defendants, including the appellants. The district court denied
8004-471: The federal law and each other in several respects. G. Robert Blakey , an adviser to the United States Senate Government Operations Committee , drafted the law under the close supervision of the committee's chairman, Senator John L. McClellan . It was signed into law by US President Richard Nixon . Prosecutors in the 1970s used it to prosecute the Mafia as well as others who were actively engaged in organized crime. In later years, prosecutors have applied
8120-423: The fields of education, healthcare, science, sports, culture, etc. Some of the initiatives include: Throughout the years, Corpbank has received a number of awards and recognitions. The bank has won the Dynamic Development Award of the Bank of the Year Association five times (2001, 2002, 2010 г, 2011, 2012), Zlatna Martenitsa from the Made in Bulgaria – Small and Medium Business Union in the financial institution with
8236-505: The first labor union official trial that began on June 5, 1979. Perroni's successful prosecution used RICO to convict the defendants of conspiracy, murder for hire, perjury and embezzlement of union property in United States v. Allison, et al. The US Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York employed the RICO Act on September 18, 1979, in United States v. Scotto . Scotto, who was convicted on charges of racketeering, accepting unlawful labor payments, and income tax evasion, headed
8352-651: The future with a threat of repetition. The Lucchese crime family was one of the " Five Families " that dominated organized crime activities in New York City. Prosecuting attorneys Gregory O'Connell and Charles Rose used RICO charges to break up the family over an 18-month period. Several members of the Latin Kings have been convicted of RICO offenses. RICO was instrumental in indicting members of The Cowboy Mafia from Texas, Tennessee and Florida. During 1977 and 1978, this group imported over 106 tons of marijuana. Using
8468-465: The government attacks on Corpbank "a crime" and lamented a dearth of banking alternatives for his members. Unlike its rivals, Corpbank also made direct investments in its clients and emerging enterprises in Bulgaria, most notably the country's leading telecom Vivacom, which it bought from creditors in 2012. Other investments of Corpbank include: Corpbank has established itself as one of the most dynamically developing banks in Bulgaria. The bank offers
8584-626: The group were published: The Cowboy Mafia (2003) by Cauble's personal jet pilot Roy Graham; Catching the Katy (2017) by Barker Milford; and A Conspiracy Revealed by DEA agent Daniel Wedeman Sr. As a result of the RICO conviction, Cauble forfeited his 31% interest in Cauble Enterprises, including two Cutter Bill Western World stores, three Texas banks (Western State Bank in Denton, Dallas International Bank and South Main Bank of Houston), six ranches,
8700-421: The guaranteed deposits for Corpbank. "Delyan Peevski is simply one of the main tools that the Bulgarian political mafia uses to blackmail Bulgarian business—the visible part of a rather large iceberg of corruption," Vasilev said in a Forbes interview. "The political mafia is persistently trying to downgrade what happened to Corpbank to a personal conflict between Mr. Peevski and me, which is utterly untrue. I had
8816-545: The inadequate policy of the Bulgarian government since June 2014. They founded "We, the Citizens", an NGO which protects their interests through class action and social activism . The NGO's president has referred to the report prepared by the Committee headed by Desislava Atanasova, which allegedly "investigated" the case, as "tendentious and unsubstantiated." Representatives of the NGO have raised concern on multiple occasions that
8932-401: The insolvency of Corporate Commercial Bank was artificial and deliberate. Economist Kolyo Paramov has argued that Corporate Commercial Bank is "a victim of a political plot in which Bulgarian institutions participated." Former ambassador and current social activist Ilian Vasilev has stated that Corporate Commercial Bank is "the victim of an attack by Bulgaria's prosecution and Peevski." Corpbank
9048-467: The lack of transparency of the hearings of the temporary committee: they argued the National Assembly denied them access to the hearing several times through administrative tricks such as changing the start of hearings in the last moment, refusing to grant them passes, etc. At the hearing which they managed to attend, depositors were interested to learn about the methodology based on which the assets of
9164-460: The law more broadly. Under RICO, a person who has committed "at least two acts of racketeering activity" drawn from a list of 35 crimes (27 federal crimes and eight state crimes ) within a 10-year period can be charged with racketeering if such acts are related in one of four specified ways to an "enterprise." Those found guilty of racketeering can be fined up to $ 25,000 and sentenced to 20 years in prison per racketeering count. In addition,
9280-466: The mid-1930s till Bulgaria entered the Second World War in 1941 the BNB went through a revival. At that time, the building of the Bank was constructed, which houses it to the present day. During the Second World War, the BNB was compelled again to lend to the Government and deal with the depreciation of the Lev. The 1947 Law on Banks carried out a drastic reform: private banks were nationalised and
9396-602: The most favorable credit policy category as well as many other recognitions and awards. In 2012, the bank improved its ranking the See Top 100 Banks ranking by taking the 24th place among the biggest banks in Southeastern Europe. This is 11 positions higher compared to the 2011 ranking when Corpbank took the 35th position. In the beginning of January 2014, the Bulgarian Stock Exchange – Sofia AD awarded Corpbank with
9512-562: The most influential political parties in Bulgaria called DPS visited Vasilev. The request was simple: transfer assets for free to the " mobster circle of DPS." Vasilev refused. DPS is a Bulgarian political party, which is also known as the Movement for Rights and Freedoms in English. Its recognizable members include Delyan Peevski , Ahmed Dogan and Yordan Tsonev . Suddenly, by June and July 2014, Corpbank customers withdrew large amounts of cash in
9628-466: The most profound institutional changes to the Bank (it became a real central bank of issue free of any activities untypical of this type of bank), and the Law on the stabilisation of the Lev and on coinage, which established a gold standard in Bulgaria whereby 92 Leva equalled 1 gram of pure gold. All these steps supported the Bank's business during the years of the Great Depression (1929–1933). From
9744-461: The other, so that Tsvetan Vasilev could buy assets that were not pledged against the credits that the companies borrowed." Tsonev and Delyan Peevski introduced retroactive changes to Bulgarian bankruptcy law, which would arguably help Peevski acquire key assets of Corporate Commercial Bank. Bulgaria's prosecution has also given numerous interviews and public statements about the Corporate Commercial Bank case. Prosecutor Ivan Geshev has stated: "This
9860-525: The prosecution team attempted to demonstrate a pattern of behavior to convict Barger and other members of the club of RICO offenses related to guns and illegal drugs. The jury acquitted Barger on the RICO charges with a hung jury on the predicate acts: "There was no proof it was part of club policy, and as much as they tried, the government could not come up with any incriminating minutes from any of our meetings mentioning drugs and guns." In 1980, Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Gil Dozier
9976-614: The prosecution's raids. Over the course of 4 days, over 20 percent of Corpbank's assets were withdrawn in cash by depositors. After the bank run, Corpbank was closed for about six months. Corpbank customers were unable to access their money because Bulgaria violated the Directive on deposit guarantee schemes, as established by the Court of Justice of the European Union. The Bulgarian government did not provide liquidity help to Corporate Commercial Bank while it bailed out First Investment Bank which faced
10092-585: The prosecution, and dependent media." They also informed him that they have submitted an application under the US Magnitsky Act against corrupt government officials. Previously, the depositors of Corporate Commercial Bank had lodged applications against Bulgaria before the European Court of Human Rights against the alleged illegal withdrawal of the bank's license. The depositors' fears have been shared by Bulgarian economists, social activists, and government critics. Economist Vladimir Karolev has asserted that
10208-462: The prosecutors' recommended $ 10 million forfeiture of the proceeds of his reign as Bonanno boss on the day of the verdict. Immediately after his July 30 conviction, as court was adjourned, Massino requested a meeting with Judge Garaufis, where he made his first offer to cooperate. He did so in hopes of sparing his life; he was facing the death penalty if found guilty of Sciascia's murder. Indeed, one of John Ashcroft 's final acts as Attorney General
10324-403: The racketeer must forfeit all ill-gotten gains and interest in any business gained through a pattern of "racketeering activity." A US Attorney who indicts someone under RICO has the option of seeking a pre-trial restraining order or an injunction to temporarily seize a defendant's assets and prevent the transfer of potentially forfeitable property as well as to require the defendant to put up
10440-467: The regulatory agencies. Following a Bank run in the third week of June 2014, the administration of the bank was forced to seek conservatorship from the Bulgarian National Bank. The Bulgarian National Bank allegedly applied dual standards and did not provide liquidity help to Corporate Commercial Bank while it provided a liquidity injection to another bank which also faced a bank run at the same time - First Investment Bank . Contrary to standard practice in
10556-480: The rest of his life in prison and ended up serving 22 months in prison. Milken was also ordered banned for life from the securities industry. On September 7, 1988, Milken's employer, Drexel Burnham Lambert , was threatened with RICO charges under respondeat superior , the legal doctrine that corporations are responsible for their employees' crimes. Drexel avoided RICO charges by entering an Alford plea to lesser felonies of stock parking and stock manipulation . In
10672-436: The right to a fair trial and the right to property . The bank's bondholders have also threatened Bulgaria's government with legal action. In 2017, Vasilev as well as the NGO "We, the Citizens", which represents thousands of depositors at Corporate Commercial Bank, submitted applications against media mogul Delyan Peevski and Bulgaria's General Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov under the US Magnitsky Act as they deem they devised
10788-431: The sector, Bulgaria's government rejected a bailout proposal by the bank's shareholders too. Moreover, the Bulgarian National Bank withdrew the bank's license on 6 November 2014 based on a confidential report which it refused to make public. Corporate Commercial Bank's depositors have raised concern that the report allegedly relies on an obscure methodology which has significantly devalued the bank's assets. Tsvetan Vasilev,
10904-462: The serious money crisis in Bulgaria in the late 19th century and with the consequences of the European money crisis in the early years of the 20th century. During the wars (1912–1918) the BNB was forced to almost limitlessly lend to the Government and increase the note issue and the amount of notes in circulation. The Bulgarian Lev came out of the wars strongly depreciated, and during the decade afterward
11020-563: The shrimp boats Agnes Pauline , Monkey , Jubilee , and Bayou Blues , the group made six trips from Colombia to Texas. The group was arrested in 1978 after the federal government seized the Agnes Pauline when they were unloading their cargo in Port Arthur, Texas . In 1979, twenty-six members of the smuggling ring were convicted. Charles "Muscles" Foster, a ranch foreman and the head of the operation, pleaded innocent by reason of insanity and
11136-546: The shutdown was due to a dispute between Vasilev and "Bulgarian media oligarch Delyan Peevski ." Bulgaria violated European Union banking laws, specifically the EU Directive on the Deposit Guarantee Schemes. Bulgaria did not repay eligible deposits within 20 days following the bank's failure, as required by the directive. Bulgaria's Deposit Insurance Fund only had 1 billion euros, which was not enough money to repay
11252-552: The streets of Midtown Manhattan on December 16, 1985. As of 2014, 33 states as well as Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands had adopted state RICO laws to cover state offenses under a similar scheme. Under the law, the meaning of racketeering activity is set out at 18 U.S.C. § 1961 . As currently amended it includes: Pattern of racketeering activity requires at least two acts of racketeering activity, one of which occurred after
11368-505: The two. Until its destruction by Bulgarian regulators and the looting of its assets, Corpbank was arguably the most innovative and entrepreneurial bank in the Balkans. Starting from scratch in 2001, it was a pioneer in export financing to Bulgarian energy producers and ammunition manufacturers previously without banking options. Bulgarian Defence Industry Association President Stefan Vodenicharov, whose members were Corpbank clients, called
11484-463: Was a universal bank , serving as both a traditional commercial bank, taking consumer deposits and making loans to businesses throughout Bulgaria, and also as an investment bank, sometimes also taking equity stakes in its clients. The Glass-Steagall Act mandates the separation of commercial and investment banking in the United States. In most of Europe, there is no regulatory distinction between
11600-563: Was a special unit in the prosecution which was "directly subordinate" to General Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov , Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Delyan Peevski and "dealt with concealing crimes and tipoffs against people close to the government, and at the same time, uses signals and tipoffs to blackmail the inconvenient." In the summer of 2014, Steve Hanke, an American economist at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland,
11716-495: Was acquitted in 1980. In August 1981, Rex Cauble was indicted by a grand jury, as the government believed he was the financial backer of the smugglers. Foster was the foreman for his ranches, and the drugs were transported to Cauble's ranches throughout Texas. Cauble was a multi-millionaire, the former chairman of the Texas Aeronautics Commission, and an honorary Texas Ranger . He was also the owner of Cutter Bill ,
11832-502: Was also critical of the bank's management. As subsequent reports evidencing irregularities in the approach of the government towards Corporate Commercial Bank began to emerge, he has refrained from commenting. In December 2014, he emphasized that if the report based on which Corporate Commercial Bank's license was withdrawn was wrong even "within the range of 5%," then there were many questions "left unanswered." The depositors of Corporate Commercial Bank have been raising their voices against
11948-493: Was built by the sculptor Professor Emil Popov and Petar Stryaskov, architect. Ilia Georgiev, Chairman of the Deserving Bulgarians Foundation is the initiator of the project . Bulgarian National Bank The Bulgarian National Bank ( Bulgarian : Българска народна банка , romanized : Bulgarska narodna banka , IPA: [ˈbɤɫɡɐrskɐ nɐˈrɔdnɐ ˈbaŋkɐ] , BNB ) is the central bank of
12064-481: Was charged with violating both Hobbs and RICO laws. The Baton Rouge -based United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana accused Dozier of compelling companies doing business with his department to make campaign contributions on his behalf. On September 23, 1980, a jury convicted Dozier of five counts of extortion and racketeering . The judge sentenced Dozier to 10 years imprisonment which
12180-527: Was created, operated and managed by its majority owner Tsvetan Vasilev as a financial pyramid. This is the finding around which almost all members of the Parliamentary Committee have agreed to. This was understood by the society immediately after the bankruptcy. Out of the 5.2 billion loan portfolio, 3.7 billion or 72% were given to companies related to Tsvetan Vasilev. All of them, a total of 117, were shell companies, through which lending went on one to
12296-410: Was declared a criminal enterprise under the federal RICO statutes after a lengthy United States Department of Justice investigation. Several high-ranking officers of the department, including Deputy Police Chief Raymond Cassamayor, were arrested on federal charges of running a protection racket for illegal cocaine smugglers. At trial , a witness testified he routinely delivered bags of cocaine to
12412-531: Was enacted by Title IX of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 ( Pub. L. 91–452 , 84 Stat. 922 , enacted October 15, 1970 ), and is codified at 18 U.S.C. ch. 96 as 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961 – 1968 . This article primarily covers the federal criminal statute, but since 1972, 33 U.S. states and territories have adopted state RICO laws, which although similar, cover additional state crimes and may differ from
12528-430: Was eventually sent to arbitration , where the arbiters ruled in favor of Major League Baseball, permitting the move to Washington to take place. Bonanno crime family boss Joseph Massino 's trial began on May 24, 2004, with judge Nicholas Garaufis presiding and Greg D. Andres and Robert Henoch heading the prosecution. Massino faced 11 RICO counts for seven murders (due to the prospect of prosecutors seeking
12644-708: Was granted political asylum in Serbia. Since 2007, Corpbank had been a publicly traded company with a two-tier management system. The shares of the bank were traded on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) – Sofia AD. In 2009, 30% of the bank's capital was acquired by the State General Reserve Fund of the Sultanate of Oman through its subsidiary Bulgarian Acquisition Company II Luxembourg. In 2010, Fata Assicurazioni Danni S.p.A. and Fata Vita S.p.A. (subsidiaries of
12760-461: Was granted political asylum in Serbia. The Serbian court has refused his extradition to Bulgaria. After the Bulgarian National Bank withdrew the bank's license and the Bulgarian administrative court did not allow the shareholders and the depositors to appeal the decision, Bulgaria's National Assembly formed a temporary committee to study the circumstances of the bank's failure in March 2015. The committee
12876-493: Was headed by Desislava Atanasova , Minister of Health in Boyko Borisov 's first government . Yordan Tsonev , member of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), was also elected as a member of the committee. Maya Manolova who subsequently became Bulgaria's ombudsman in July 2015 expressed worries about the structure and hierarchy of the committee. NGOs representing the depositors at Corporate Commercial Bank complained from
12992-472: Was indicted on 98 counts of racketeering and fraud relating to an investigation into an allegation of insider trading and other offenses. Milken was accused of using a wide-ranging network of contacts to manipulate stock and bond prices. It was one of the first occasions that a RICO indictment was brought against an individual with no ties to organized crime. Milken pleaded guilty to six lesser felonies of securities fraud and tax evasion, rather than risk spending
13108-667: Was later upgraded to 18 years when other offenses were determined. A $ 25,000 fine was suspended pending appeal, and Dozier remained free on bail . The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans upheld Dozier's conviction. He eventually served nearly four years until a presidential commutation freed him in 1986. Around June 1984, the Key West Police Department located in Monroe County , Florida,
13224-605: Was part of the Bulgarian Commercial Bank's Management. The original bureau of Burov, where he worked while he was at the Bulgarian Commercial Bank, is kept at Corpbank's building. АД The monument of Burov was officially unveiled at the end of 2011. It is located in front of the Ivan Vazov National Theater and is built with funds provided by the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Corpbank, Tsvetan Vasilev. The monument
13340-561: Was subsequently withdrawn by the Bulgarian National Bank in November 2014. However, in 2022, the European Court of Human Rights held the license was revoked in violation of the right to a fair trial and the right to property . The second largest shareholder in the bank litigated before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes . The chairman of the bank's supervisory board and majority shareholder, Tsvetan Vasilev ,
13456-560: Was to order federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Massino. Massino thus stood to be the first Mafia boss to be executed for his crimes, and the first mob boss to face the death penalty since Lepke Buchalter was executed in 1944. Massino was the first sitting boss of a New York crime family to turn state's evidence, and the second in the history of the American Mafia to do so ( Philadelphia crime family boss Ralph Natale had flipped in 1999 when facing drug charges). In 2005,
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