site.btaSofia Mayor Dismisses Deputy With Immediate Effect

Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev has dismissed Deputy Mayor Nikola Barbutov with immediate effect, Terziev said on his Facebook page on Wednesday.

He pointed out that he has also issued an order for an internal audit of all public procurement contracts with Barbutov as the contracting authority.

The events come after the Counter-Corruption Commission carried out searches in the Sofia Municipality on Tuesday, during which Barbutov was detained and taken for questioning. On Monday, the mayors of Sofia's Mladost and Lyulin boroughs left Continue the Change on the grounds that they had been pressured by the party.

On Wednesday, the Counter-Corruption Commission told BTA that the investigation is ongoing and that there are three people detained in the case.