There is no basis for a conviction of Blagomir Kotsev, the evidence does not give rise to any concerns. He himself knows and declares it - he did not commit any illegal actions during his mayoral term. We will appeal. This was said on the air of "Offensive with Lyubo Ognyanov" lawyer Milen Ralchev - legal defender of the mayor of Varna.
We recall that the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office arrested the mayor of Varna, Blagomir Kotsev, two municipal councilors from "We continue the change" and a businessman. The first three were charged with racketeering.
According to him, no SRC and incriminating evidence were used in the case.
"Deputy Mayor Snezhana Apostolova appointed the commission that conducted the public procurement that is the subject of the case, and another deputy finalized it with the conclusion of the contract. Subsequently, this procurement was subject to control by the CPC, which found no grounds to overturn the decision, and the Supreme Administrative Court confirmed this. Public procurement was the responsibility of the former deputy mayor of Varna, Dian Ivanov. He was questioned as a witness, his testimony contains general phrases, but there is no involvement or concern for Kotsev. Public procurement is not the responsibility of the mayor of Varna," the lawyer commented.
After a 6-hour hearing on Friday, the court decided to keep the arrested people in custody until July 17, when their sentence will be finally reviewed. The report against them was filed by the owner of a catering company, Plamenka Dimitrova, who claims that she was extorted. The accusation against the four detainees is that they participated in an organized crime group, and the mayor and two municipal councilors are also being investigated for extortion.
According to Ralchev, the thesis of Plamenka Dimitrova, who filed the report for corruption, changed during the different phases of the pre-trial proceedings.
"This person remembers that she has concerns only when the public procurement is over and she did not win it. When the CPC rules that there are no violations in the procedure, it decides that there are claims against individual individuals. The name of Asen Vassilev appeared yesterday for the first time in statements made outside the courtroom by persons connected to the indictment. The new indictment does not contain a person with immunity. On Monday, we will file an appeal against the current measure. The case was incorrectly allowed to be heard by the Sofia City Court," the lawyer believes.
Regarding the recording that appeared in the public domain, which allegedly refers to the case, Ralchev categorically stated that he had nothing to do with Blagomir Kotsev and he himself denied participating in such a conversation.