Bulgaria Ex VP May End Up at Constitutional Court

Former Bulgarian VP Angel Marin (R) and President Parvanov at Marin's decoration with a Stara Planina order, days before the end of their second term and the eruption of the scandal. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria's top court is planning to approach the constitutional court to have the final say on the controversy over the legitimacy of the country's former vice president.

"We are expecting the presidency to officially confirm the lack of a decree that authorizes Angel Marin for his second mandate, after which we will approach the constitutional court," Georgi Kolev, chairman of the Supreme Administrative Court commented on Thursday.

A day earlier a three-member panel of the top court ruled that the presidency should provide a written document, stating whether former Vice President Angel Marin has been authorized for his second mandate or not.

The decision of the supreme court is final and is not subject to appeal.

It has recently emerged that former President Georgi Parvanov failed to issue a decree authorizing the second mandate of the Vice President from 2007 to 2012.

This has led many to state that Marin's decrees to pardon prisoners, grant and strip of citizenship can be challenged in court as invalid and in violation of the Constitution.

Meanwhile it became clear that Angel Marin pardoned mainly murderers and culprits of other grave crimes during his two terms in office.

The country's new President Rosen Plevneliev tried to play down the scandal, but now the top court has forced him into producing irrefutable proofs.

The issue of Marin's alleged illegitimacy was taken to the court room by no other than Interpol-sought Russian mafia thug Konstantin Tsiganov, who is believed to be the head of the Russian crime group Uralmash.

Tsiganov is said to be the head of the Russian crime group Uralmash and has been wanted by the Russian authorities since 2003 and by the Interpol since 2006.

He was granted Bulgarian citizenship in 2001.

Ten years later, he was expelled from Bulgaria, stripped of Bulgarian citizenship and banned from re-entering the country for 10 years.

Earlier this year the anti-government Galeria weekly released an article, featuring a photo of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov playing football with the Russian mafioso.

The article informed that the match had taken place on August 27, 2008, when Boyko Borisov was mayor of Sofia.

The publication triggered a heated debate in parliament and questioned, yet again, the prime minister's integrity and the transparency of his links to allegedly underworld figures.

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