The prosecutor’s office is pressing charges against Deputy Minister of Environment Krasimir Zhivkov, who was detained yesterday, and against the brothers Plamen and Atanas Bobokov who are in the business of motor oil and battery and accumulator recycling.

They are being investigated for participation in a criminal organization dealing in the illegal import and processing of hazardous waste. Three more persons have been charged, among them the former head of the regional environmental inspectorate in the town of Pleven. According to the evidence gathered, Krasimir Zhivkov put pressure on his subordinates to undertake the unimpeded import of waste from Italy.