Bulgaria Ex Defense Minister Left behind Bars over Subornation

Crime | April 4, 2010, Sunday // 17:43
Bulgaria: Bulgaria Ex Defense Minister Left behind Bars over Subornation Bulgaria's ex Defense Minister Nikolay Tsonev (middle) and his two accomplices were left in jail by the Sofia City Court on Sunday. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

Bulgaria’s former Defense Minister, Nikolay Tsonev, and his two accomplices, including an acting judge, will remain jailed over an attempt to bribe an investigator.

After a four-hour hearing on Sunday, the Sofia City Court ruled to keep behind bars Tsonev, financial consultant Tencho Popov, and Petar Santirov (who is actually a judge of the same court) claiming that if released on bail the three men could escape or destroy evidence.

The three men were busted on Thursday over an attempt to bribe a Sofia investigator named Petyo Petrov in order to obstruct the Tsonev’s trail for abuses he allegedly committed during his term as Defense Minister in 2008-2009.

The charges against the three men were presented by a prosecutor on duty, Sasho Totev, as Deputy Sofia Prosecutor Roman Vasilev withdrew from the case apologizing for the way he treated Tsonev during his arrest.

The three defendants might get up to ten years in jail and a fine of up to BGN 15 000 each over attempting to bribe a senior magistrate. Sunday’s hearing was closed to the public because part of the evidence was collected using special intelligence devices.

During the hearing, financial consultant Tencho Popov claimed that he did not know former Defense Minister Nikolay Tsonev personally, and that the investigator Petyo Petrov demanded a bribe in order to hinder the investigation against Tsonev.

According to the prosecution, Tsonev used judge Santirov and financial consultant Tencho Popov as intermediaries in order to offer EUR 60 000 to the investigator. The investigator was expected to hinder the trial.

Nikolay Tsonev is facing several investigations and charges but the one in question referred to a public procurement contract of the Defense Ministry for the construction of an optic cable called Strandzha 2, worth BGN 120 M. According to Deputy Chief Prosecutor Boyko Naydenov, the deal was not only detrimental to the state but made no sense at all as the Defense Ministry did not need the optic cable.

The investigation of the deal was started at the end of 2009 and has not been taken to court yet.

For three full weeks, the police followed the suspects in the bribery scheme, and detected several meetings among them managing to grasp important details about what exactly the investigator had been offered and what he was expected to do in exchange.

The police even delayed the special operation for two days because at the last minute the intermediaries started to haggle anew with the unnamed investigator. Eventually, the arrests were made as the investigator was summoned to a law office in order to receive a bribe installment of EUR 20 000.

Tencho Popov, former Secretary of the Finance Ministry and activist of the National Movement for Security and Prosperity of the former Tsar and PM Simeon Saxe-Coburg, was busted as he was handing the bribe money to the investigator.

Ex Finance Minister Nikolay Tsonev was arrested in the Military Hospital as he was being given a document certifying sickness so that he can skip an interrogation scheduled for next Tuesday.

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Tags: Roman Vasilev, Prosecutor, Nikolay Tsonev, Defense Minister, arrest, Tencho Popov, Petyo Petrov, investigator, Petar Santirov, Sofia City Court

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