Bulgarian tobacco firm to halt exports to Middle East after smuggling claims

Bulgarian tobacco company Bulgartabac said it would halt sales to the Middle East as of April 1, following media allegations its products made up a large part of the cigarettes illegally smuggled into neighboring Turkey.Bulgartabac denied any wrongdoing, adding its exports had been carried out in full compliance with customs and trade legislation, which had been confirmed by customs and tax audits. “Given the sensitive situation in the Middle East, Bulgartabac is stopping exports to the region in order to prevent the involvement of the company in artificially created reputation problems that couldcompletely ruin it,” Bulgartabac said in a statement.
 

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