Bulgaria Currency

Since 1997, the Superintendency of Banks and Other Financial Institutions (SBIF) has implemented controls to prevent and investigate money laundering including stricter customer identification requirements and the reporting of currency transactions and suspicious activity. These controls apply to all banks (commercial, investment, mortgage, private), savings and loan institutions, financial rental agencies, currency exchange houses, money remitters, money market funds, capitalization companies, and frontier foreign currency dealers. The institutions are also required to report currency transactions of more than U.S. $10,000 (or local currency equivalent), and suspicious transactions to a National Financial Intelligence Unit (UNIF) created in 1998 under the SBIF. The UNIF analyzes the suspicious activity reports and refers those deemed proper for further investigation to the appropriate enforcement authority, which could be the National Guard, Technical Judicial Police, or the Office of ... [Read More]

U.S. Department of State - Washington Hyper File

208 Text: China Ready to Adopt Market-Based Currency Rates, U.S. Says ... [Read More]

Macedonia (05/05)

Information on travel conditions, visa requirements, currency and customs regulations, legal holidays, and other items of interest to travelers also may be obtained before your departure from a country's embassy and/or consulates in the U.S. (for this country, see "Principal Government Officials" listing in this publication). ...

The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program provides Consular Information Sheets, Travel Warnings, and Public Announcements. Consular Information Sheets exist for all countries and include information on entry requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, areas of instability, crime and security, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. posts in the country. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country. Public Announcements are issued as a means to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Free copies of this information are available by calling the Bureau of Consular Affairs at 202-647-5225 or via the fax-on-demand system: 202-647-3000. Consular Information Sheets and Travel Warnings also are available on the Consular Affairs Int ... [Read More]

Country Reports: G-M

Gabon Gabon is not a regional financial center. The Bank of Central African States (BEAC) supervises Gabon’s banking system. BEAC is a regional Central Bank that serves six countries of Central Africa. According to a 2003 letter from the Government of Gabon (GOG) to the UN Counter Terrorism Committee, in matters concerning suspicious financial transactions, banks are bound by the instructions of the Ministry of Economic and Financial Affairs. The actual monitoring of financial transactions is conducted by the Economic Intervention Service that harmonizes the regulation of currency exchanges in the member States of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC). On November 20, 2002, the BEAC Board of Directors approved draft anti-money laundering a ... [Read More]

International Narcotics Control Strategy Reports

FINANCIAL CRIMES AND MONEY LAUNDERINGMONEY LAUNDERINGOVERVIEWIn 1992, the major trends affecting money laundering policy were: (1) further sophistication of money laundering practices; (2) greater investment of drug and other illicit proceeds into established businesses, both to conceal money movements and to capitalize on illicit profits; (3) the internationalization of money laundering networks whose operations involve an ever larger number of countries and territories, regardless of their importance as financial centers or as drug producing or transit countries; and (4) the intensified involvement of the Sicilian Mafia and other criminal organizations in Europe, Asia and the Western Hemisphere who comingle proceeds from many crimes to confound investigators, and are now acting as brokers for funds unrelated to their own trafficking activities. These trends have made it more difficult to differentiate between drug-related money laundering and other forms of illegal money m ... [Read More]

US Department Of State Post Report

The unit of currency is the lev (plural: leva). Currency notes are available in the following denominations: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 leva. Coinage includes 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 stotinki and 1 lev (100 stotinki = 1 lev). The lev is pegged to the Euro. ...

Since July 1997 the Bulgarian government has been operating under a currency board arrangement (CBA).  Until December 31, 1998 the (old) Bulgarian lev (BGL) was tied to the German mark (DM) at a rate of BGL 1,000 to one mark.  Since January 1, 1999, the lev has been fixed to the euro at an exchange rate of 1,955.83 leva to one euro.  On July 5, 1999, the lev was redenominated, with BGL 1,000 replaced by one new lev (BGN).  Thus, BGN 1.95583 currently equals one euro. ... [Read More]

International Adoption Bulgaria

http://www.mjeli.government.bg/ (Bulgarian only) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS: Prospective adoptive parents may be married or single. Adoptive parents must be at least fifteen years older than their adoptive children, but no more than forty-five years older.  There are no Bulgarian age minimums or maximums; prospective adoptive parents are expected to comply with their home government’s age requirements (For the U.S. prospective adoptive parents must be at least 25 years old; there are no age maximums).  [Read More]

Bulgaria

Visitors may exchange cash at banks or Exchange Bureaus, but they should know that Exchange Bureaus sometimes post misleading rate quotations that confuse travelers.  People on the street who offer high rates of exchange are usually con artists intent on swindling the unwary traveler.  Damaged or very worn U.S dollar bank notes are often not accepted at banks or Exchange Bureaus.  Major branches of the following Bulgarian banks will cash travelers' checks on the spot for Leva, the Bulgarian currency, or another desired currency:  Bulbank, Bulgarian Postbank, Biochim, First Investment Bank, and United Bulgarian Bank (UBB).  UBB also serves as a Western Union agent and provides direct transfer of money to travelers in need.  There are also many Western Union branches in major towns and c ... [Read More]

Bulgaria (06/05)

Under the leadership of former Prime Minister Ivan Kostov (UDF), who came to power in 1997, an ambitious set of reforms were launched, including introduction of a currency board regime, bringing growth and stability to the Bulgarian economy. The currency board contained inflationary pressures and the three-digit inflation in 1997 was cut to only 1% in 1998. Following declines in GDP in both 1996 and 1997, the Bulgarian government delivered strong, steady GDP growth in real terms (4.0% in 1998, 2.3 % in 1999, 5.4% in 2000 and 4.0% in 2001). ... [Read More]