Bulgaria Prosecutor Resigns over Magistrates Corruption Scandal

Bulgaria's Supreme Judicial Court is shaken by a corrution scandal involving violations of the ethical code of magistrates. File Photo

The administrative head of the Bourgas Regional Prosecutor's Office, Angel Angelov, has resigned after being caught up in the ‘Krasio’ scandal.

Angelov gave the reason for his resignation on Monday saying that he had been interrogated regarding the controversial ‘Krasio the Black’ case.

According to Angelov the interrogation had come about after it was revealed that he had held a 90 second phone call with ‘Krasio’ from Pleven. The latter is an individual who, allegedly, offered magistrates to secure their appointment to high ranking positions through the vote of the Supreme Judicial council (VSS) in exchange for EUR 200 000 in cash.

Angelov admitted that doubt had been cast regarding his legitimate appointment to his post and that he had made a bad judgment regarding the phone call. He however, pointed out that the Krasio conversation was purely routine and did not involve anything that clouded his decisions.

The President of the Supreme Administrative Court, Konstantin Penchev, defined last Thursday the VSS situation as a precedent and appealed to all magistrates that know they have had contacts with Krasio to submit their resignations.

Chief Prosecutor, Boris Velchev, on his part, asked VSS to halt all new appointments and hires until the scandal is over due to the current lack of trust in the VSS. Velchev explained he would present the Council with data about three groups of magistrates proven to have been communicating with Krasio – those who have been appointed to high-ranking posts in the judicial system, those who applied for such posts, but have not been selected, and a third group he called “others.”

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