The Sofia City Court will review the measures of the detainees after the action of the Anti-Corruption Commission in Sofia Municipality. The prosecutor's office has charged them with corrupt practices, BNT recalls.
Former deputy mayor Nikola Barbutov faces two charges - for participation in an organized criminal group and for offering a bribe. The other accused is an employee of Sofia Municipality. The prosecutor's office will request permanent arrest for both of them. Two employees from the district administrations in “Mladost“ and "Lyulin" have also been brought to criminal liability. They have been given bail.
Yesterday, Vasil Terziev dismissed Nikola Barbutov from office after he resigned. The mayor of Sofia ordered a full audit of the public procurement contracts awarded by Barbutov. In the meantime, an audio recording was sent to the media, the authenticity of which has not been confirmed.
It is claimed that the former “We continue the change“ mayor of "Lyulin" Georgi Todorov and the detained Barbutov are heard discussing a scheme for distributing public procurement contracts in exchange for financial assistance for the party headquarters.
At the beginning of the week, the mayors of the "Mladost" and "Lyulin" districts together with two municipal councilors left “We Continue the Change“, on the grounds that they were pressured by the party's leadership for public procurement. Because of the scandal, Kiril Petkov resigned as co-chairman of “We Continue the Change“ and as an MP.