Bulgarian men arrested over bank run fears
Two men were arrested this weekend in Bulgaria, following accusations that they helped to spark bank runs in the country over the last week.
The arrests follow a statement from financial authorities, who claimed that the country’s financial system was under attack. The men were arrested in Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital, and Ruse, a smaller provincial city.
The country’s First Investment Bank has seen queues of people attempting to reclaim their investments, some of whom had reportedly received text messages urging them to withdraw their deposits.
Bulgaria’s Corporate Commercial Bank was taken into the central bank’s administration last week, and the national bank has previously blamed “rumours and malicious public statements” for the panic. The institution also called for a “sober and reasonable” response to the emergency from Bulgarian politicians.
Combined with other ongoing issues, the crisis has helped to prompt a snap election, meaning that the country will go to the polls in October.