Bulgaria Businessman Speaks out about Bribing Corrupt Prosecutor

Bulgarian businessman Yosko Isaev has made public details on how he was blackmailed by Prosecutor Georgi Velkov who was recently busted with a bribe of BGN 23 000.

Isaev, who is the manager of “Pleven Bread” firm in the northern city of Pleven, explained he had been deceived by another businessman, Iliyan Mihaylov, that he could regain property of a flour mill in the region through court proceedings against another local firm, Octopus Invest Holding, which could be arranged by Prosecutor Georgi Velkov.

Isaev game in person BGN 15 000 in cash to Velko and BGN 8 000 to Mihaylov right before the two were busted in a coordinated operation of the Interior Ministry, the Sofia Prosecutor’s Office, and the National Security Agency.

The Pleven businessman, however, also revealed that had been the third bribe he had given Prosecutor Velkov. The first time he gave him BGN 10 000 for the suit over the flour mill to be started, and then another BGN 10 000 to terminate the proceedings. Isaev gave the local media three tapes of his conversations with Mihaylov and Velkov with information about arranging the bribes.

Mihaylov and Velkov were arrested at the end of October but were released on a bail of BGN 10 000 each several days later.

Mihaylov has claimed the money he received from Isaev was a repayment of an old debt. He also says Velkov and him are victims of a setup so that they can be removed from the case against the Octopus Investment Holding firm. The court hearing of the case has been put off for December 17, 2009.

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