A lot will change for the scammers offering “Bulgarian origin”
Recently we wrote about one of the most frequent scams with Bulgarian origin documents. Namely the scam through a Romanian company, that offers foreigners to “find” their ancestors’ birth certificates, showing Bulgarian origin. As you can guess, the documents that the scammers are “finding” are fake. This is of course only one of the many similar scams that try to lure foreigners into believing that Bulgarian citizenship by origin can be obtained with fake documents. Luckily this game is over now and all these who have been playing it will be prosecuted. Especially, after Bulgaria joined Schengen, the police authorities in Bulgaria are working very hard to bring the scammers to justice.
As the Bulgarian prosecutor’s office is now much more active, we are witnessing more and more fraudsters coming out of their holes and trying to cover their tracks. Today we will shed some light on the so-called Swiss scam. It seems that this scam has attracted many foreigners and in effect turned them into accomplices in crime.
The Swiss scam for Bulgarian citizenship by origin
Recently we had yet another strange call from a man, who presented himself as a Swiss citizen of Russian descent. According to information from our own sources, he was probably working for a Swiss private bank. He had a number of “clients”, which would rather consider as “victims”, that he needed assistance for. Some of his clients were already being investigated in Bulgaria for presenting fake documents, trying to prove Bulgarian origin and get citizenship. Others, obviously knowing their documents were not legit, wanted to withdraw their files before the Bulgarian authorities discovered the fraud. Obviously, all these foreigners with fake documents were serviced by the same scammer(s). And all arrows were pointing in one direction – Switzerland.
The Russian Swiss private bankers
Many Russians who worked in Switzerland in the late 1980s were surprised by the collapse of the USSR. Most of them however could adapt quickly, as they were already in high positions and had the right connections. Many managed to stay in Switzerland and even got citizenship for themselves and their children.
Later in the beginning of the 1990s, when the “new Russians” made their first millions, they started depositing their fortunes abroad, mainly in Switzerland. They were bringing cash in amounts that a man could not even carry. And during these times, the newly baked Swiss bankers, fluent in Russian, had their golden age. Each and every bank in Switzerland, as many of you may know, had a team of Russian born bankers, who were servicing exclusively the Russian speaking clientele.
The additional services of the Swiss Private Banks
Private banks are much more than banks, especially in Switzerland. And logically, the Russian Swiss bankers knew what some of their clients really needed – a powerful passport and a citizenship. Many Swiss banks were offering legitimate citizenship services to their private clients. And we have cooperated with many of them to do the job. But after the demise of the investment citizenship programs in the EU, the options for high-net-worth clients became limited. And this was the breaking point when some of the bad actors in Switzerland, almost always acting without the knowledge of the bank itself, have tried to find an easier way to “arrange” Bulgarian citizenship.
So at the end of the day, many of the Russian Swiss bankers, having already established very close contacts with the Russian speaking clients, have found a way to make some extra money. Most of the time, as we wrote above, this was without the official knowledge of the bank itself. So what the Russian speaking bankers discovered is that Bulgarian citizenship can be obtained with a single document – an old Soviet birth certificate. And they also found out very soon that there were many fraudsters around, who were offering fake birth papers. And so it began.
The problem for them now is that the Bulgarian police authorities are very eager to put all these schemes to an end. And soon, the bad actors, who organised the schemes, will get what they deserve.
As for their clients, it is extremely important if they can prove to the investigative authorities that they have been victims, rather than perpetrators.
What to do if you have applied for Bulgarian citizenship through your Swiss banker and you suspect that something is wrong?
If you have applied for Bulgarian citizenship by origin through your Swiss banker, be on alert. It is of course perfectly possible that your application may be legitimate. But it may be not. And if you suspect the latter, then take action immediately. Probably the first sign that you may have been scammed and pushed to commit a crime is if you suspect that the Russian Swiss banker is acting on his own, without the knowledge of the bank. Probably there will be some signs that you should look for. If this is the case, don’t trust him to solve your problems. Your Russian Swiss banker, if he has acted in bad faith, won’t save you from a criminal prosecution. What he will do is take more of your money and try to cover his own tracks.
Be wise, don’t ruin your life, because of the greediness of others. Please read the article Scammers and Bulgarian citizenship by origin and contact us for urgent assistance.