Petrakiev (right) was released on Monday after prosecutors failed to produce new evidence in their investigation against him. Photo by Nadya Kotseva (Sofia Photo Agency)
Sofia City Court decided Monday to release Boyan Petrakiev, charged with forging credit cards and the possession of drugs, from his house arrest, but he has to pay BGN 2000 bail.
Petrakiev, better known by his nickname Barona (the Baron) has spent far too long a time in jail, magistrates decided.
He was arrested in the beginning of June 2006 but investigators haven't managed to come up with new evidence against him, the court pointed out.
Petrakiev and four others are suspected of producing fake credit cards, but "the Baron" insists he knows nothing of computer technologies and could not have been involved as his business was to export monkeys from Africa.