The Sofia City Prosecutor's Office has summoned four defendants and ordered their detention for up to 72 hours in pre-trial proceedings conducted for a corruption crime in the Municipality of Varna. Among those detained is the Mayor of Varna, Blagomir Kotsev.
He and the other three have been charged with criminal liability for participation in an organized criminal group that operated on the territory of the city of Varna since July 2024. until November 19, 2024, with the aim of committing crimes in office, bribery and money laundering in a coordinated manner, as the group was created for a selfish purpose and officials participated in it, the state prosecution reported.
Blagomir Kotsev and two others - N. S. and Y. K. are also charged with the fact that in August 2024 in complicity as perpetrators requested an amount equal to 15% excluding VAT of BGN 1,523,446, representing the value of a public procurement contract with the subject matter of “Preparation and delivery of ready-made food, daily for the needs of social services for children and adults at the Municipality of Varna, including delivery of ready-made food for children and adults in need of a specific diet“, in exchange for influence in making a decision by an official in connection with his service (Art. 304b, para. 1, in conjunction with Art. 20, para. 2, para. 1 of the Criminal Code).
The pre-trial proceedings were initiated on 19.11.2024 and are conducted by the Commission for Combating Corruption under the leadership and supervision of the State Prosecutor's Office.
Numerous witnesses were questioned, a large volume of documentation was collected. After analyzing the evidence and at the request of the supervising prosecutor, the Sofia City Court granted permission to conduct a search and seizure in private homes, motor vehicles, offices of commercial companies, and offices in the Varna Municipality building, given the reasonable assumption that documents and other items, including electronic devices, that may be relevant to the case are stored there.
The accused were provided with legal protection.
The investigation into the case continues.