Bulgaria Busts Crime Group Making Fake Car Insurance, Technical Test Certificates

Bulgarian police have dismantled an organized criminal group dealing in fake documents for technical tests and third-party liability insurance of automobiles, the Ministry of the Interior announced on Tuesday.

Nine suspects have been detained during the police operation conducted in the cities of Ruse, Sofia, Pleven, Silistra and Yambol, the ministry said in a statement.

The criminal group has been active since at least January 2015, according to evidence collected so far.

Members of the group made and distributed fake documents and windshield stickers certifying that an automobile had passed annual technical inspection or its owner had paid for the compulsory third-party liability insurance policy. The group also forged green cards for motor insurance in Europe, according to the statement.

The operation has also revealed that the fake blank documents and stickers had been manufactured in China and sent to Bulgaria in postal parcels.

The fake documents certifying thatn a car has successfully passed its annual technical test were predominantly sold to Romanian citizens who had registered their vehicles in Bulgaria, according to the statement. The fake green cards for travel in Europe were distributed mostly among citizens of the Baltic states.