Bulgarian Court Confiscates Pimp Rapper's Property, Cars

Vanko 1, the notorious pimp rapper at the time of his release from jail in February 2008. Photo by BGNES

Bulgarian rapper and pimp Ivan Glavchev aka Vanko 1, best known as the godfather of a scandalous provision for prostitution offenses, heard on Thursday a court ruling for the confiscation of a house and two of his luxurious cars.

Plovdiv district court ordered the confiscation at the request of the Committee for revealing assets acquired through criminal activity.

The house and two cars - a Mercedes and BMW - are believed to have been acquired in this way since its owner could not provide any evidence that he purchased them through legal means.

The ruling is expected to be appealed.

The rapper was sentenced to four years and a half and a fine of BGN 4 500, but had only thirteen months to serve after spending three years and a half in custody. He was released from prison in February 2008.

His sudden decision to peacefully serve his term, however, made lawyers suspect he may have stuck a deal with the legislators, who were desperate to save face after passing a highly controversial bill for prostitution offenses.

The amendment, named after him, changed the sentencing provisions for prostitution offenses, reducing "heavy sentences" and those for more serious offenses: prostitution involving minors, committed by organized criminal groups and involving three or more women.

The changes to the penal code sparked a public outcry in Bulgaria and became a household name as "Vanko 1" amendment.

Adopted just three months before Bulgaria entered the European Union, the changes raised brows across the EU bloc, where legislators are pushing for tougher sentences for prostitution offenses.

The irrational decision of the Bulgarian legislators raised doubts of incompetence and corruption practices and was reversed right after the court delivered its sentence on the rapper with tougher sentences for prostitution offenses reintroduced.

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