The prosecutor’s office filed a complaint and opened files for the six Bulgarian citizens sanctioned by the United States. Among them are Vasil Bozhkov, Delyan Peevski and Ilko Zhelyazkov. Others named by the US Treasury Department for corruption include former Deputy Economy Minister Alexander Manolev, former head of the Agency for Bulgarians Abroad, Petar Haralampiev, and agency secretary Krassimir Tomov. Sanctions were also imposed on 64 related companies. The spokesperson of the Chief Prosecutor Siika Mileva announced at a briefing:
“The Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Bulgaria has expressed a position in which it fully supports the US partners that the rule of law and the rule of law are at the core of any democratic state and their defense is impossible without united opposition of all institutions against crime, in particular corruption, money laundering and organized crime. Therefore, a constructive dialogue and interaction between the judiciary in the face of the prosecution and the executive in the face of all law enforcement agencies within their functional competence is needed. This can hardly happen in the conditions of political attacks against the judiciary.“
She clarified that with regard to Vasil Bozhkov, in addition to 18 charges for various crimes, there are several investigations in the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office with different subjects of activity. It would be assessed whether the subject of the inspection coincided and, if so, it would be sent to the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office.
„With regard to Manolev, Haralampiev and Tomov, the Blagoevgrad District Prosecutor’s Office and the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office have filed indictments in court and the cases are currently in court. All crimes for which they are criminally liable are corruption and fall into the unified catalog of corruption crimes, introduced by order of the Prosecutor General in 2014 in pursuance of the recommendations of the European Commission”, said Mileva.
She stressed that much of the facts cited by the US Treasury Department are likely to be based on the work of the prosecution and the evidence it has gathered.
„Regarding the person Peevski over the years, the prosecutor’s office has carried out a number of inspections. They are to be analyzed”, Mileva explained.
She was adamant that a full check and analysis of the data indicated in the report of the Ministry of Finance will be carried out for the six sanctioned.
