Send to Kindle
Aleksei Petrov. File photo by BGNES
Notorious Bulgarian businessman Aleksei Petrov, who is tried on numerous counts for organized crime, has been released on a bail of BGN 10 000.
Sofia Court of Appeals took that decision Friday, a week after Sofia City Court released the alleged gang leader from detention to house arrest, citing Petrov's deteriorating health condition.
The court also decided that the prosecution's claim that if Petrov is released from arrest, he would influence witnesses, lacks substantiation.
Aleksei Petrov was arrested in February 2010 in a much-publicized special operation by Bulgaria's police, codenamed Octopus.
Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov and Minister of Interior Tsvetan Tsvetanov did much to portray Petrov as the mastermind of an extensive organized crime network.
The trial against Petrov has however dragged for months with little progress, and with the prosecution forced to drop part of the charges against him.
In the early 1990s, Petrov was a business partner of Borisov. He has also served time as an agent in Bulgaria's special services, including newly founded DANS.
The Sofia City Court has ruled that the 32-year-old man accused of attacking weather forecasters at the Murgash peak station will be placed under house arrest
"Everyone wants positions – in regulatory bodies and ministries," he emphasized.
The Sofia Court of Appeal has made a final decision to release the infamous businessman and politican Vasil Bozhkov upon payment of 130,000 BGN
In a swift and targeted move, law enforcement authorities launched a special operation in Sofia, honing in on a building along Cherni Vrah Blvd. where offices of "Lev Ins" and the Union for Economic Initiative of Citizens are located
In a significant crackdown on organized crime, Bulgarian Border Police have detained ten individuals involved in migrant trafficking during a targeted operation in the Burgas area
A GDBOP (Main Directorate "Fighting Organized Crime") officer, Georgi Karakolev, has been placed under house arrest on charges of espionage
The identity of the Bulgarian who died at the UN base in Gaza has been revealed
Residents of the Bulgarian town of Kazanlak are planning a protest demanding justice for the brutal death of Daniel Kiskinov
Bulgarian citizens Gabriela Sashova (26) and Krasimir Georgiev (34), who have garnered widespread outrage for their alleged involvement in animal abuse
The Sofia City Court has ruled that the 32-year-old man accused of attacking weather forecasters at the Murgash peak station will be placed under house arrest
Residents of Sofia's Oborishte district have expressed concerns over repeated attacks by a man with mental health issues
Costa Rican authorities have intercepted 50 kg of cocaine, which was destined for a port in Bulgaria
Bulgaria's Perperikon: A European Counterpart to Peru's Machu Picchu
Bulgarians Among EU's Least Frequent Vacationers, Struggling with Affordability
