site.btaUPDATED Court Keeps Varna Mayor in Custody, Judgment Appealable

The Sofia City Court left Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev in custody after examining his measure of restraint on Friday evening. The judgment is appealable.

He was detained on July 8 under a police order tied to an investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Sofia City Prosecution Office, and has been held in custody since then.

Based on a tip-off from a failed public procurement tenderer, Kotsev and Varna municipal councillors Yordan Kateliev and Nikolay Stefanov were charged with participation in an organized crime group engaging in abuse of office, bribery and money laundering. In particular, the three were charged with attempting to extort the equivalent of 15% of a public procurement contract worth BGN 1,523,446 (excluding VAT) for supplying meals to schools and kindergartens. Plamenka Dimitrova, the owner of the catering company, accused Kotsev of demanding a bribe to greenlight the contract. He has denied the charges.

On Friday, the presiding judge said that since Kotsev continues to serve as mayor of Varna, he has access to significant resources and may influence witnesses who have not been questioned yet. The court declined to comment on the substantiated assumption that Kotsev committed the offences he is charged with, but confirmed that such an assumption exists. It is based on witness testimony collected in the case.

The court added that the second questioning of witness Dian Ivanov, conducted on October 2, during which he claimed that he had been pressured during his initial interrogation to testify against Kotsev, came too recently to be taken as established fact. The court also noted that the investigation is progressing at a steady pace.

The prosecution presented new witness statements, from Ivelin and Nikolay Ivanov, as well as from an anonymous witness who was questioned on Thursday.

Prosecutor Angel Kanev commented on the statements of Ivelin and Nikolay Ivanov, saying that they were identical and described the same criminal scheme through which money had allegedly been solicited in the same way. He added that the protected witness had chosen to remain anonymous out of fear for his life, saying he was afraid of Kotsev.

Kanev also said that although there was no risk of the accused absconding, there remained a well-founded assumption that Kotsev had committed the crimes he was charged with. The prosecutor added that any lighter measure would allow Kotsev to use his "official influence" to commit another crime and gain access to municipal archives, potentially interfering with the collection of evidence.

Prosecutor Violeta Stancheva stated that, due to the lack of new evidence, there was no reason to alter the existing measure of restraint. She referred to Plamenka Dimitrova's testimony, emphasizing that the risk of Kotsev committing another offence remained high given the nature of the charges and the number of people involved.

Lawyer Nikolay Vladimirov argued that the Ivanovs' statements should already be part of the investigation and cannot be considered new evidence. Only the testimony of the witness with a concealed identity qualifies as new evidence. However, the court noted that none of these statements had been added to the case file yet.

Vladimirov said that although several court panels have ruled that the testimony of witness Plamenka Dimitrova is consistent and credible, he does not share that view. He supported his argument by referring to the pattern of previous public procurement contracts won by Dimitrova, which, he claimed, did not appear legitimate.

Vladimirov also argued that since the Sofia Appellate Court found no risk that municipal councillors Yordan Kateliev and Nikolay Stefanov would commit another crime and placed them under house arrest on October 9, the same reasoning should apply to Kotsev, as the charges against them are identical. The lawyer added that it is not in his client's character to commit a crime, which is confirmed by the fact that the residents of Bulgaria's third-largest city trusted him and elected him mayor.

The lawyer asked the court to impose house arrest, adding that there was no risk of Kotsev absconding, as he has a permanent address.

For his part, Kotsev asked the court for a lighter restraint measure so he could see his family, adding that he still did not understand why he had found himself in this situation.

Prosecutor, lawyer comment after the hearing

Prosecutor Angel Kanev told reporters that the supervising prosecutors would decide whether to request the removal of Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev from office. Kanev was asked why, given that yet another court panel has ruled that Kotsev could commit another offence if a lighter measure were imposed, precisely because he remains mayor, the prosecution has not requested his suspension from office. Kanev added that there is no set deadline for making such a request.

According to Kanev, the anonymous witness was asked for money more than twice by different people at the end of 2024.

He explained that the measures imposed on each defendant are determined individually, regardless of whether they are part of the same group. This is why the Sofia Appellate Court released Kateliev and Stefanov under house arrest, while the Sofia City Court decided to keep Kotsev in custody.

Lawyer Nikolay Vladimirov told the media: "The grounds for the councillors' detention are the same as for Kotsev, since the evidence and the charges are identical." He asked: "How could someone under house arrest go to the municipal archives?"

The anonymous witness was summoned urgently at around 2 pm to the Anti-Corruption Commission in Sofia. "He does not claim to have paid a bribe, only that one was demanded of him," Vladimirov said, noting that according to the witness, the demand did not come from Kotsev himself.

Background to the case

On May 5, former Varna deputy mayor Dian Ivanov, once regarded as Kotsev's "right-hand man", abruptly resigned from his post, citing "health reasons". Ivanov became a witness for the Anti-Corruption Commission and reportedly said in his testimony that Mayor Kotsev had instructed him to participate in the extortion of Plamenka Dimitrova. However, Ivanov later recanted his testimony, saying that he had given it under pressure from the Anti-Corruption Commission.

On September 23, the Sofia Appellate Court left Kotsev in custody. The court said that Varna Municipality employees had been questioned and documents that had to go through the mayor were requested. Judge Stefan Iliev said there was reasonable suspicion that Kotsev committed the crimes of which he is accused. This is evidenced by Dimitrova's testimony and there is no testimony to the contrary. In its ruling, the court also took into account Dian Ivanov's testimony. The judge added that there was no risk of Kotsev absconding if a lighter measure was imposed, but there is a risk that he may commit another crime, as he is still a mayor of Varna and can influence the investigation with his influence on the City Hall.

On October 9, the Sofia Appellate Court placed Varna municipal councillors Kateliev and Stefanov under house arrest and ruled for their immediate release from custody. After the hearing, Kotsev's lawyer Ina Lulcheva filed a motion to have Kotsev's measure of restraint examined.

Kotsev was elected mayor on the ticket of Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria in November 2023. Supporters say his arrest is part of a government campaign targeting the opposition. Large-scale protests in support of Kotsev have been staged in Varna, Sofia and other major cities.