Sarafov crushed Barcelonagate. There was no evidence of money laundering.

Sofia Appellate Prosecutor’s Office takes the supervising prosecutor to #Барселонагейт. The prosecuting prosecutor Lyudmil Koyumdzhiev does not find in the covers of the case data on the functioning of an organized criminal group for financial crimes. And he even rewrites the Penal Code slightly to argue.

The case has #Барселонагейт been seized by the supervising, at least so far, prosecutor Stefan Hristov. By its decree of 24.07.2023, the prosecutor from the Appellate Prosecutor’s Office Sofia Lyudmil Koyumdzhiev takes from the examination and resolution of a prosecutor’s file with number 16617/2022 on the inventory of the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office in pre-trial proceedings with number 116/2022 on the inventory of the National Investigation Service (NSlS) prosecutor Stefan Hristov from the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office.

A facsimile of the decree is attached below, at the end of the text.

On 18.07.2023, the Appellate Prosecutor’s Office – Sofia received a letter from the Supreme Cassation Prosecutor’s Office with a certified copy of the report on pre-trial proceedings under number 116/2022 on the inventory of the National Prosecutor’s Office, on which specific findings and recommendations were made. The inspection established deficiencies in the rhythm, timeliness and observance of procedural deadlines in the course of the pre-trial investigation, which is why the supervision of the file was ordered by the superior prosecutor’s office, in this case the SAS. The Supreme Cassation Prosecutor’s Office found that after 15.05.2023, work began on the file with extremely high intensity of procedural investigative actions. Before that, however, the experts, appointed on 19.07.2021, financial and accounting expertise had not been provided for a long time the tax, bank and social security information collected in the case. There are delays in the preparation of requests for disclosure of bank secrecy and in assigning transfers of part of the implemented European Investigation Orders. In the period from 30.03 to 15.05.2023, procedural investigative actions were not carried out, but after that date, numerous investigative actions were carried out with extremely high intensity.

In addition to sharing the thesis about the irregularity of the investigation, prosecutor Lyudmil Koyumdzhiev that there is an impact related to increased public attention on the case related to ex-Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. The prosecutor from the appellate prosecutor’s office also reports that a change in the leadership of the prosecution probably had an impact on the supervising prosecutor Stefan Hristov. According to Koyumdzhiev, it was Geshev’s ouster that motivated him to take personally, performing many urgent, but not carried out until then investigative actions with extremely high intensity, which can be accepted as a circumstance leading to suspicion of bias from the outcome of the case. Lyudmil Koyumdzhiev accepts that so far insufficient evidence has been collected for the presence of an organized criminal group that has committed financial crimes, such as money laundering. However, none of the reasons given essentially affects that conclusion.

Due to fears that the supervising prosecutor Stefan Hristov is biased and does not work rhythmically, Koyumdzhiev takes him. Meanwhile, with an order under number PD-04-551, the administrative head of the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office, Iliana Kirilova, changes the methodology and procedure for the allocation of cases and files in the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office, so that with a high degree of probability the case #Барселонагейт will fall to one of the deputies of the administrative head. Where it belongs, once again Borisov “chose himself” a new Prosecutor General.

The “supervisory” prosecutor Koyumdzhiev himself is highly unaccidental, alleged to be one of the trusted people of Sotir Tsatsarov, he often “comes into use” during his term. Koyumdzhiev leads a number of loud pre-trial proceedings, bringing a sense of order, which, however, loudly explode in court – and so every time. For example, he was overseeing the case of the “Bobokovs’ rubbish”, which was last
terminated
by the SAS and returned to the Prosecutor’s Office due to an unfit indictment. An identical fate had the case against the “stock brokers” (i.e. fraudsters) from “Global Markets” – as after Termination The Prosecutor’s Office did not even bother to protest in front of the SAS. In colloquial translation: we agree – We have worked scruffy, irreparably scruffy. For dessert, we will also remember Koyumdzhiev’s opus magnus

– his bribery case against Judge Nikolay Stefanov from Ruse, in which the judge was not only acquitted, but also then sentenced

the prosecution (i.e. us taxpayers) to compensation of BGN 150,000 plus interest. No, don’t@v@me – as the father says Dogan.

Legal cletosity

Lawyers will probably be impressed by the interpretation that Koyumdzhiev makes on the definition of an organized criminal group or OCG. According to the Criminal Code, Art. 93 para. Art. 20, “Organized criminal group” is a structured permanent association of three or more persons with the aim of committing crimes coordinated in the country or abroad, for which a penalty of imprisonment of more than three years is provided.

According to the principle of law of the SAP, however, the association must be only “of more than three persons”. It turns out that three persons are not enough for OCGs. With this creative approach of rewriting the law, multiple OCG files will simply be dropped.

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