Stoyan Mavrodiev's lawyer - Emanuil Yordanov, stated on the program “In Focus“ that his client voluntarily decided to return to Bulgaria and participate in the criminal proceedings against him. According to him, when this will happen depends entirely on the Serbian authorities.
“Even before he left for Belgrade, we talked and specified that he would return to Bulgaria to actively participate in the criminal proceedings and seek clarification of the truth as he sees it“, Yordanov said.
He added that Mavrodiev categorically denies having committed a crime. “He told me that he is not guilty in this particular case. The facts we have make me think that this is indeed the case“, said the lawyer, refusing to disclose details on the grounds that this would harm the defense.
Yordanov specified that he did not know Mavrodiev before he was sought as a defense attorney. According to him, his client did not expect to be detained during his trip to Serbia. “I warned him that if he returned to Bulgaria, it was quite normal for him to be detained and then to begin proceedings under his detention order“, he pointed out.
The lawyer admitted that Mavrodiev's decision to return home was also related to the political situation in the country. “To some extent, it is related to the change of power. Let's say – "about 50%," said Yordanov, without going into details.
According to him, the reasons for Mavrodiev leaving Bulgaria cannot be commented on publicly either. "He had a reason not to stay in Bulgaria, but at this stage I cannot say more," added the defense attorney.
Emanuel Yordanov said that after his client's return, an interrogation will most likely follow, and the prosecution will decide whether to request his detention.
Regarding the allegations of businessman Julian Lambovski that the Bulgarian Development Bank was used to finance political and economic circles, the lawyer emphasized that there are no such charges in the case. "The charge is only for the loan of nearly 150 million leva. "Everything else is Mr. Lambovski's personal opinion," he said.
Yordanov also commented on the information spread about alleged joint flights between DPS leader Delyan Peevski and constitutional judge Desislava Atanasova. When asked whether there was a possibility that the interior minister had spread false information, he said: "There are cases in which a minister may have been misled by his employees."
He also commented on the information that a law firm had paid for part of Peevski's flights. "In nearly 40 years of practice, I have never heard of a lawyer paying for a charter flight for his client. That would be a very bad practice," Yordanov said.
According to him, the publicly disclosed data has already caused reputational damage to Desislava Atanasova, but whether she should resign as a constitutional judge is her personal decision. “If I had to guess, I think he won't resign“, he said.
Emanuil Yordanov also commented on the case of former investigator Petyo Petrov - Euroto, expressing doubt that he will be detained soon. “In my opinion, this is not possible. A lot of time has been lost, and he knows the way law enforcement agencies work very well and has enough experience to hide successfully“, said the lawyer.
Regarding prosecutor Emilia Rusinova, Yordanov believes that after all the public doubts surrounding her, it would be better for her to leave the system herself.
In conclusion, he expressed hope that over time all the facts surrounding the high-profile cases will be clarified.