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Stoyan Mavrodiev, the former head of the Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB), has been declared a national wanted person, according BNR sources within the prosecutor's office. Mavrodiev is one of three defendants involved in a case concerning an unsecured loan of 150 million leva that the bank issued in 2019 to a company linked to Rumen Gaitanski, also known as "The Wolf."
The businessman, Gaitanski, is currently in custody following a decision by the Sofia City Court, while the third defendant, lawyer Ivan Georgiev, is out on bail set at 50,000 leva. All three are under investigation for embezzlement on a particularly large scale.
Should the nationwide search for Mavrodiev prove unsuccessful, there is a possibility that a European Arrest Warrant will be issued for the former BDB director.
The case against Stoyan Mavrodiev centers on "embezzlement on a particularly large scale," with "The Wolf," implicated as the instigator despite being a private individual with no public office. The issue initially emerged under a felony warrant in October 2022, involving a 2019 loan, but the case was dismissed on May 5, 2023, by the prosecutor who found no evidence of the alleged crime. This decision was upheld by the Appellate Prosecutor's Office.
However, the Supreme Cassation Prosecutor's Office later found deficiencies in the investigation, noting that connections between companies involved in distributing the loan money were inadequately explored. This led to the case being reactivated and returned to the supervising prosecutor on January 12, 2024, with the Anti-Corruption Commission taking over.
Initially, only the third participant in the loan scheme was detained. Rumen Gaitanski subsequently surrendered, but Mavrodiev has been elusive, reportedly residing mainly in Greece, complicating efforts to bring him to trial. Throughout his career, marked by significant scandals, Mavrodiev was known for his close connections with the controversial figure Delyan Peevski - (co)chairman of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) and sanctioned by the Magnitsky Act. Notably, during the summer of 2020, amid widespread protests against the GERB government and then-chief prosecutor Geshev, Mavrodiev became known for his remark, "Shishi does not allow early elections" (ed. note: Delyan Peevski is known in the public sphere by the nickname "Shishi") which proved prescient as early elections did not occur despite the public outcry.
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