site.btaContinue the Change: Disciplinary Proceedings Against Sarafov Should Be Completed Before He Leaves System

Borislav Sarafov must not under any circumstances be allowed to leave the system before the disciplinary proceedings and the proceedings conducted by the ad hoc prosecutor are completed, because otherwise the traces would deliberately be covered up, which is a crime, said Velislav Velichkov, MP of Continue the Change, speaking to journalists in the halls of parliament. Earlier on Wednesday, Borislav Sarafov announced that he had submitted a request for his early dismissal as Director of the National Investigative Service and Deputy Prosecutor General.

“For the first time, Borislav Sarafov is in a position to be investigated,” Velichkov explained. “As of today, he is an ordinary investigator, and this means that all facts related to his possible involvement in the ‘Eight Dwarfs’ scheme and in other schemes revealed in 2023 and 2024 must be completed — not only disciplinary proceedings, but also those conducted by the ad hoc prosecutor, which were initiated by the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Cassation,” the MP said. These actions were carried out in his capacity as Deputy Prosecutor General and acting Prosecutor General, he added.

“We are also waiting for Emilia Rusinova (the acting administrative head of the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office) to resign and leave the system, since disciplinary proceedings have already been initiated against her,” Velichkov said. According to him, however, Rusinova should not leave before the investigations against her are concluded.

The Mayor of Varna has revealed shocking facts about illegal construction that should not only be stopped but also demolished, said Continue the Change floor leader Nikolay Denkov.

On Tuesday, Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev announced that construction of an illegal complex in the Baba Alino area near Varna, with a Ukrainian company as investor, had been halted.

Denkov explained that last year one of the executives of the company carrying out the construction received a ban on entering Bulgaria and an extradition order issued by the leadership of the State Agency for National Security (SANS). A few days later, that order was revoked, and on July 8 Blagomir Kotsev was arrested. Several days after that, information emerged that there was a protected witness who would testify against him, Denkov explained. He pointed out that, according to media publications, the protected witness was in fact the executive of the same company.

Information also emerged that the deputy mayor of Varna had been threatened by the leadership of the anti-corruption commission, Denkov added. According to him, there had been a “political umbrella” protecting the company’s construction activities. He insisted that the institutions provide an answer as to who had ensured that protection.

Denkov also said that on the evening before workers at the construction site were arrested, part of a building owned by the family of Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev was set on fire.

Pavel Popov from Continue the Change said that this was not merely an administrative violation, but a threat to the national security. “Someone had promised the violators that all their problems would be solved, and that someone holds a high position,” he said.

Velislav Velichkov added that SANS owes an explanation as to why it revoked the extradition order. “The new leadership of SANS must review all actions of the previous SANS leadership regarding the order,” he added.