Atanas Bobokov resigns as Monbat CEO amid illegal waste import charges

The businessman Atanas Bobokov said on June 3 that he resigns as executive director of the local car battery manufacturer Monbat, which he manages together with his brother Plamen Bobokov.

The news was officially announced on the company's corporate website.

"In view of the stability of the company Monbat Group, represented by me and the trust of investors built over the years, I hereby declare that I am resigning from the position of Executive Director of the company Monbat Group," reads the statement submitted to the Financial Supervision Commission, Bulgarian Stock Exchange and to the public.

Last week, Bobokov was detained in police custody. He was charged with involvement in an organised crime group for illegal waste imports, along with deputy minister of environment Krasimir Zhivkov and several other people. Zhivkov was subsequently dismissed from office.

The prosecution says the group also includes the former head of the Regional Environment Inspectorate in Pleven Gabriel Savov.

According to the Prosecutor's office, Atanas Bobokov himself determined who would be appointed to which position in the Ministry of Environment. There are also testimonies that the dismissed deputy minister Zhivkov exerted pressure on employees subordinate to him in the Ministry if they refused to give the necessary permits or notification to waste recycling companies related to the Bobokovi brothers.