site.btaVarna Deputy Mayor for Finance Hristo Rafailov Dismissed

Varna Deputy Mayor for Finance and Budget Hristo Rafailov has been dismissed from his position, the Varna Municipality said in a press release on Thursday. The statement does not specify the reasons for his dismissal. According to the press release, Rafailov’s employment contract was officially terminated on August 29. His responsibilities will be distributed among the heads of the municipal departments that were previously under his supervision.

As deputy mayor, Rafailov was among the possible candidates to take over as acting mayor during Mayor Blagomir Kotsev’s detention - currently the position is held by Pavel Popov but Kotsev's order for his appointment will be valid until August 31. Popov's appointment was challenged by the Municipal Council Chair, but was upheld by the Supreme Administrative Court.

Blagomir Kotsev was arrested late on the night of July 8. On the same date, the prosecuting magistracy announced that the Anti-Corruption Commission had launched an operation in Varna under the supervision of the Sofia City Prosecution Office (SCP). The following day, the SCP confirmed that four individuals had been charged and detained for 72 hours in connection with a corruption investigation in Varna. Along with municipal councilors Yordan Kateliev and Nikolay Stefanov, Kotsev has been charged with participation in an organized criminal group. The group is accused of engaging in coordinated criminal activities including abuse of office, bribery, and money laundering. The organization, allegedly formed for personal gain, includes public officials. Kotsev, Kateliev, and Stefanov are also charged with attempting to extort a sum equivalent to 15% excluding VAT of 1,523,446 BGN, of the value of a public procurement contract for the delivery of ready meals to schools and kindergartens.

Rafailov is the second deputy mayor to leave office this year. On May 5, former deputy mayor Dian Ivanov, once regarded as Kotsev’s “right-hand man,” abruptly resigned from his post, citing “health reasons”. Following his departure from Varna’s municipal leadership, Ivanov became a witness for the Anti-Corruption Commission. In his testimony, he reportedly said that Mayor Kotsev instructed him to participate in the extortion of businesswoman Plamenka Dimitrova, the owner of a catering company. However, Ivanov recanted his testimony announcing that he had given it under pressure from the Commission. On July 17, the Sofia Appellate Court upheld a ruling of a lower instance court and left Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev along with municipal councilors Nikolay Stefanov and Yordan Kateliev in custody on charges of corruption. Regarding the case of Nikolov, who had publicly claimed that his testimony was given under pressure, Prosecutor Kalin Bliznakov remarked that until Nikolov is questioned further, his statements remain as valid evidence in the investigation.