Acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov commented to BTA on the criminal circles around former investigator Petyo "The Euro" Petrov and Martin "The Notary" Bozhanov and how their activities remained hidden from the prosecution service and the police for so many years. Sarafov noted that one names comes up in relation to both cases, and that is former prosecutor general Ivan Geshev.
Petrov's name and that of his then-wife Lyubena Pavlova made headlines about three years ago during the investigation of the Anti-Corruption Fund, a case taht became known as the “Eight Dwarfs”.
Bozhanov was shot dead in a gated complex in a Sofia suburb on the evening of January 31. According to media reports, he was a large-scale fixer of people's problems with the judiciary. He has been implicated in building a network of connections with prosecutors and judges whom he allegedly bribed, threatened, blackmailed or otherwise pressured to treat his "clients" favourably.
When asked if Geshev's name was connected to one of the two circles, Sarafov replied that he had repeatedly stated his opinion on the matter.
The Acting Prosecutor General commented on the topic during a press briefing after he and a team of prosecutors entered the Sofia District Prosecutor's Office, where a review of cases will be carried out.
The prosecution service said that they will examine cases, related to the above circles, that have been terminated, on which the criminal proceedings have been suspended and which are still unresolved. The review is due to be completed by the end of the month, and its findings will be released later.
In relation to the information that magistrates were part of Bozhanov's private club and part of an influence trading circle in the judicial system, Sarafov said that he cannot confirm the existence of such a club. He expressed indignation that it is possible to trade cases and justice in such private clubs, and said that complicity of magistrates in relation to trading in influence will be proven by witness statements and by the course of the cases themselves.
Sarafov also said that specific cases and specific magistrates who become known to be part of certain circles and "deal with fairness and justice" will be checked. He pointed out that there is no evidence on politicians connected to Bozhanov, but there is data that points to magistrates.
Sarafov also noted that the prosecution must show that it has an "immune system" and mechanisms to cleanse itself. He addressed the political class by saying that the disempowerment of the prosecutor general, the disintegration of the prosecution service, will lead to the proliferation and emergence of such brokers of trade for fairness and justice throughout the judiciary. Sarafov said that if the prosecutor general is disempowered, all control mechanisms of the prosecuting magistracy will disappear.
Sarafov confirmed that he will go to the hearing in the ad hoc committee of inquiry into the facts and circumstances surrounding the activity of the group around Martin "the Notary" Bozhanov, as well as in the Supreme Judicial Council, and will present the information that the supervising prosecutor allowed him.
/NZ/
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