site.btaHigh-ranking Prosecutor Requests Dismissal of Specialized Prosecution Chief

High-ranking Prosecutor Requests Dismissal of Specialized Prosecution Chief

Sofia, August 24 (BTA) - The Head of the Appellate Specialized Prosecution Office (ASPC), Daniela Popova, requested that Specialized Prosecution Office Chief Svetozar Kostov be removed from office. The report has been sent to the Prosecutor General and the request - submitted to the Supreme Judicial Council, ASPC said.

The request has been prompted by a July 17, 2015 ruling of Kostov by which he delayed the execution of a prison sentence by convict Rossen Petrov. Petrov's sentence is effective and has to be served under low-security regime. A check, carried out on Popova's request, has established that Kostov has admitted serious violations in regards to the enforcement of Petrov's sentence.

Petrov is of the criminal group of Zlatomir Barret Ivanov. Zlatomir Ivanov is a former
officer of Bulgaria's anti-terrorist squad and one of the founders of the Apollo and Bolkan insurance company. He is believed to be one of the successors in the drug business after the 2003 murder of Konstantin Dimitrov in Amsterdam, another
alleged crime boss.

Ivanov was arrested on February 6, 2009 in a joint operation of the Criminal Police and the State Agency for National Security (SANS). At that time he was also wanted in
connection with two murders and three attempted murders.

Petrov has an effective prison sentence of three years and three months in a drug trafficking case, issued in February. However, he presented documents that he is undergoing an operation in September and was not sent to prison. The supervising prosecutor expressed the opinion that Petrov is not seriously ill but Kostov accepted that the convict's condition is an obstacle to the serving of the sentence.

In the meantime, Petrov was among a group of fans of the CSKA Football Club who attacked the offices of the Zonal Council of the Bulgarian Football Union earlier this month. Days later Petrov was arrested while spending a holiday in Nessebur.

There are three other ongoing disciplinary proceedings against Kostov at the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) - two at the request of Prosecutor General Sotir Tsatsarov and one on the initiative of SJC members.