The Sofia City Prosecutor's Office (SGP) has filed an indictment with the Sofia City Court (SGP) in an investigation against the former deputy mayor of the Sofia Municipality Nikola Barbutov, businessman Petar Rafailov, Sonya Klisurska and Rositsa Pandova - deputy mayor of the "Lyulin" district. This was announced by the SGP. The defendants have been brought to court for a total of eight crimes. A dispositional hearing on the case is scheduled by the Sofia City Court.
The investigation into the pre-trial proceedings was carried out by the Commission for Combating Corruption under the leadership and supervision of the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office.
Barbutov, Rafailov and Klisurska have been charged with participating in an organized criminal group in Sofia from February 2025 to June 24 for the purpose of committing crimes against office and bribery.
Barbutov was also brought to trial for bribery because on June 17 he promised Georgi Todorov - mayor of the Sofia district “Lyulin“, a sum of money equal to 6% of the value of public procurement contracts that will be announced in the future by the “Lyulin” district. For his part, Todorov was supposed to appoint experts close to Barbutov as members of the commissions under the Public Procurement Law, when conducting future procedures, and to announce companies that would be specifically indicated by Barbutov as contractors for public procurement.
As deputy mayor, Barbutov exceeded his authority by holding talks with Ivaylo Kukurin - mayor of the metropolitan district "Mladost" - and with Georgi Todorov, in which he explained to them that public procurement in the two metropolitan districts should be prepared by his trusted experts, so that they would be won by companies close to him. Barbutov was facilitated in this by Rafailov, who, in order to give credibility to the statement made by the deputy mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality, attended his meeting with Kukurin and met with deputy mayors of the district "Lyulin". He introduced himself to them as one of the "trusted" experts and explained the process by which public procurement will be conducted. The goal was to declare companies close to Barbutov as contractors for public procurement and to conclude contracts with them.
Rafailov is also accused of bribery for offering Kukurin on June 5 a sum of money equal to 6% (nearly 300 thousand leva) of the estimated value of a public procurement contract for the expansion of a kindergarten with Kukurin as the client, in order to appoint a company named by Rafailov to fulfill the public procurement contract.
Barbutov and Rafailov are also accused of crimes committed in office between February and June 17 of this year.
Pandova is also accused of bribery - in February 2025, she offered 2,500 leva to Trifonov for concluding a contract for the implementation of a public procurement contract through direct award - for the repair and reconstruction of the courtyard of a capital school in the amount of 49,500 leva without VAT.
We recall that on June 24, officers of the Anti-Corruption Commission searched the Sofia Municipality. The Commission's actions were a result of the announced data on pressure exerted on the mayors of the districts of “Mladost“ and “Lyulin“ and two municipal councilors. A little later, the Deputy Mayor of Sofia Nikola Barbutov in the direction of “European Policies, International Activities and Tourism“ left the building of the Sofia Municipality, accompanied by police. The Anti-Corruption Commission announced that there are three detainees in the case and the prosecutor's office is about to decide what procedural measures it will take against them. The next day, the SGP filed charges against the detainees.