The prosecution service announced Thursday that they have closed an investigation prompted by the publication of photos from the bedroom of GERB leader and former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.
Sent to the news media anonymously in June 2020, the photos showed Borissov sleeping in his bedroom in the Boyana Residence with a gun on a nightstand, and also drawers full of wads of 500-euro banknotes and gold ingots, apparently in the same bedroom.
The prosecution service said that they were unable to prove whether the euro notes, the gold ingots and the gun were really there or were photoshopped. Also, they were unable to find out whether the wads of banknotes had other nominations other than the 500-euro notes, how many notes there were and what was the total amount. Nor could the investigation find out beyond doubt when the photos were taken.
The whole package that was send to the press contained 17 files of photos and videos.
Sofia City Prosecution Office sent inquiries for analyses of the photos with the banknotes and the gold ingots, to the central banks of Germany, France, Austria, Spain and Belgium. The French central bank said that one of the notes that is clearly seen on the photos, does not exist. The central banks of Germany and Spain said they were unable to establish whether there were banknotes on the photos, which are in circulation or which have been recalled. The Austrian central bank said that the inquiry concerned actions which are not considered an offence or an administrative misdemeanor in Austria.
The prosecutors conclude that it is possible that the photos have been manipulated by adding, removing or altering elements on them.
The "Gold Bars" investigation was opened in mid-2020, terminated in May 2023 by the Sofia City Prosecution Office and reopened shortly after that by a decree of the Sofia Appellate Prosecution Office.
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