Bulgaria Ethnic Turkish MP "Friends" with Shady Businessman

The Deputy Chair of the ethnic Turkish party Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), Kassim Dal, is one of the four MPs who had contacts with the shady businessman involved in the scandal shaking Bulgaria's judicial system. Photo by BGNES

The Deputy Chair of the ethnic Turkish party Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), Kassim Dal, declared the notorious “Krasio from Pleven” a good friend of his.

Dal spoke in an interview Friday for the Bulgarian TV channel bTV, saying it is true he had over 100 phone calls with Krasio.

Krasimir Georgiev aka “Krasio from Pleven” is an individual who, allegedly, offered magistrates to secure their appointment to high ranking positions through the vote of the VSS in exchange for EUR 200 000 in cash.

18 Bulgarian magistrates face legal charges over their contacts with the shady businessman while it was reveled Wednesday that in addition to prosecutors and judges four Bulgarian Members of the Parliament have been in touch with him.

They include the above said Kassim Dal, two other DPS members – Erdogan Ahmedov and Lyutvi Mestan and the MP from the opposition Coalition for Bulgaria, Kiril Dobrev.

In the TV interview Dal says Georgiev is a young man with whom he visited coffee shops for friendly chats and they went hunting together, adding he is not at all nervous about his contacts.

The DPS MP voiced his opinion Krasio is a lame duck for the internal fights in the Bulgarian Supreme Judicial Council and a good excuse and alibi for some.

“Our friendship has nothing to do with what is happening now,” Dal said while firmly denying his party was ever involved in political cover-ups and declaring he personally had never been involved in anything that violates the law.