An owner of a luxury Bentley vehicle has reported that he bought it with loans from 42 friends, the National Revenue Agency (NRA) said on September 3 2009, a few months after it investigated more than 100 owners of luxury Bentley cars, properties and yachts.

Two other individuals said that they had loaned about 300 000 leva each to their own companies so that the luxury vehicles could be registered as company cars.

Another person tried to hide 120 000 leva in income. Tax authorities found out that the value of the properties he owned substantially exceeded the level of his officially declared income. He could be fined 48 000 leva, NRA said.

In an attempt to avoid confiscation, another Sofia businessman had sold his property to a company he owned. However, NRA said that this property would be put up for a public sale.

Checks were first announced in May this year when NRA and the State Agency National Security (SANS) said they had targeted 400 companies and at least 150 individuals in connection with suspected undeclared income and other forms of tax evasion.

At the time, the 150 individuals concerned were said to each own property worth more than 500 000 leva on the outskirts of Sofia. But their tax declarations were said to be incompatible with such wealth.

As part of that investigation, SANS had found 112 Bentley cars, whose owners had filed tax declarations that raised questions. Checks will continue for an indefinite time, NRA said.