About: Seizure of Bulgaria's Corpbank

In June 2014, a run on Bulgaria’s Corporate Commercial Bank (Corpbank) brought down the bank, the country’s fourth largest. It was closed down by the country’s central banking system, the Bulgarian National Bank, and had ripple effects throughout Bulgaria’s economy. Corpbank's depositors have estimated that the losses from the bank's insolvency could amount to 10 billion Bulgarian lev or approximately 5 billion Euro. As a result, international investors are wary of making investments in the country. Corpbank’s owner, Tzvetan Vassilev, currently lives in exile in Serbia as the Serbian courts have denied his extradition. Bulgaria's authorities have charged him with embezzlement, but he claims the charges are politically motivated.