The Burgas District Court has ruled on the most severe measure of detention “detention” for the regional leader of the MRF Hristo Shirokov.
He has been remanded in custody as a defendant for participating in an organized criminal group operating in the region for the purpose of racketeering, coercion and influence peddling.
A day earlier, the prosecutor's office officially announced the charges and its intention to request permanent arrest for Shirokov. On the same day, he returned to our country from abroad, where, according to his defense, he had been undergoing treatment, and voluntarily reported to the ODMVR – Burgas together with his lawyer.
According to the state prosecution, the scheme operated by manipulating water meters and extorting dozens of hoteliers in the Sunny Beach and Ravda areas. Investigators claim that the collected amounts — between 10,000 and 30,000 leva per property — reached Shirokov, who had the role of redistributing them.
Before the court's ruling, lawyer Mario Naydenov stated that there was no direct evidence of his client's participation in the criminal group, and the prosecution's case was based mainly on anonymous witness testimonies. The defense was categorical that Shirokov was not hiding from the authorities.
For the other three suspects in the same investigation, including the former manager of the Burgas Water and Sewerage Company – Tsvetan Mirchev, the magistrates have already determined the lighter measure of “house arrest".