Corpbank Temporary Trustees in Bankruptcy Step in Office

Sofia, March 27 (BTA) - Rossen Angelchev and Lazar Iliev, the
temporary trustees in bankruptcy at Corporate Commercial Bank
(Corpbank), stepped in office on Friday.

They were accompanied by Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov,
Interior Ministry Chief Secretary Georgi Kostov and Deputy
Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov.

Angelchev and Iliev were appointed by the Sofia City Court on
Wednesday on an application by the Bank Deposits Insurance Fund.

Deputy Prosecutor General Sarafov said that the prosecution
service will monitor closely the work of the two and will press
charges if Corpbank assets are mismanaged. He added that the
prosecution service received a report by the bank administrators
 on Friday that it is about to analyze. He did not rule out
pressing charges against them if they were found to have
committed violations. Sarafov said that a court in Belgrade will
 hold another hearing on the application for the extradition of
Corpbank majority owner Tsvetan Vassilev. The prosecution
service has ordered more expert opinions and is interviewing
borrowers to check whether some were acting on behalf of the
bank managers.

A trial against Vassilev may begin in his absence. If new
charges are pressed against him, this may mean another
application for extradition, said the Deputy Prosecutor General.
 

Finance Minister Goranov recalled that new legislation had to be
 passed urgently regarding the work of the temporary trustees in
 bankruptcy and that a third trustee may be appointed next week.

On June 20, 2014, Corpbank, Bulgaria's fourth biggest lender, 
suspended all operations after a panic run by depositors left it
 illiquid. The central bank withdrew Corpbank's banking  licence
 on November 5, 2014, and the bank's bankruptcy was  petitioned
on November 7.