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Former Bulgarian VP Angel Marin (R) and President Parvanov at Marin's decoration with a Stara Planina order, days before the end of their second term and the eruption of the scandal. Photo by BGNES
Bulgaria's top court is planning to approach the constitutional court to have the final say on the controversy over the legitimacy of the country's former vice president.
"We are expecting the presidency to officially confirm the lack of a decree that authorizes Angel Marin for his second mandate, after which we will approach the constitutional court," Georgi Kolev, chairman of the Supreme Administrative Court commented on Thursday.
A day earlier a three-member panel of the top court ruled that the presidency should provide a written document, stating whether former Vice President Angel Marin has been authorized for his second mandate or not.
The decision of the supreme court is final and is not subject to appeal.
It has recently emerged that former President Georgi Parvanov failed to issue a decree authorizing the second mandate of the Vice President from 2007 to 2012.
This has led many to state that Marin's decrees to pardon prisoners, grant and strip of citizenship can be challenged in court as invalid and in violation of the Constitution.
Meanwhile it became clear that Angel Marin pardoned mainly murderers and culprits of other grave crimes during his two terms in office.
The country's new President Rosen Plevneliev tried to play down the scandal, but now the top court has forced him into producing irrefutable proofs.
The issue of Marin's alleged illegitimacy was taken to the court room by no other than Interpol-sought Russian mafia thug Konstantin Tsiganov, who is believed to be the head of the Russian crime group Uralmash.
Tsiganov is said to be the head of the Russian crime group Uralmash and has been wanted by the Russian authorities since 2003 and by the Interpol since 2006.
He was granted Bulgarian citizenship in 2001.
Ten years later, he was expelled from Bulgaria, stripped of Bulgarian citizenship and banned from re-entering the country for 10 years.
Earlier this year the anti-government Galeria weekly released an article, featuring a photo of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov playing football with the Russian mafioso.
The article informed that the match had taken place on August 27, 2008, when Boyko Borisov was mayor of Sofia.
The publication triggered a heated debate in parliament and questioned, yet again, the prime minister's integrity and the transparency of his links to allegedly underworld figures.
Two illegal slaughterhouses were uncovered in the Kardzhali region during a joint operation by the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) and the Economic Police
Bulgaria’s largest illegal cigarette factory to date has been shut down following a coordinated operation involving the State Agency for National Security (SANS), the Interior Ministry, the Customs Agency, and British authorities.
According to data released by the National Statistical Institute in August, the base remuneration of the head of state was increased by BGN 1,596, bringing the monthly salary to BGN 15,870, which is roughly EUR 8,115
After nine years, Rumen Radev officially left the presidency, passing the office to Iliyana Yotova, his former vice president. The handover followed a ceremony at the grand entrance of the presidential building at “Dondukov” 2 street, where Yotova, now of
The Constitutional Court of Bulgaria has formally accepted President Rumen Radev’s resignation, paving the way for Vice President Iliana Yotova to assume the presidency.
President Rumen Radev will remain in office until Friday, when the Constitutional Court is expected to rule on his resignation. The court has officially announced that a hearing on the case has been scheduled for January 23, starting at 10 a.m.
A young man from Chirpan has died after spending months in a coma following a violent assault that reportedly began over a dispute involving cigarettes
A 53-year-old man with a criminal record has been detained in Bulgaria during a targeted police operation against vote buying, carried out in the village of Brestnitsa in the Lovech region
A criminal network linked to Bulgaria has been accused of defrauding dozens of elderly people in northern Greece through an elaborate telephone scam that resulted in losses exceeding 600,000 euros, according to Kathimerini.
A premeditated murder investigation is underway after a violent incident in the village of Kokalyane near Sofia, where a man is accused of fatally stabbing another person inside a garage that had been adapted for living
Italian authorities have launched an investigation into a large-scale scheme involving the illegal export of hazardous waste to Eastern Europe, with five Bulgarian nationals among those under scrutiny
Authorities in Bulgaria report a significant escalation in efforts to combat election-related violations, with 183 individuals detained in connection with crimes against electoral rights
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