1st Bulgaria Magistrate Admits Wrongdoing in Judiciary Scandal

Bulgaria's court system is shaken by a corruption scandal involving violations of the ethical code of magistrates. File Photo

The candidate to become Chair of the Pleven Regional Court, Rumen Lazarov, admitted that the so-called, notorious “Krasio from Pleven” attempted to influence court decisions.

Lazarov, who is also temporarily in charge of the Pleven Court, made the confession during his hearing at the Supreme Judicial Council (VSS) when its members had to vote on the appointment

Lazarov further said that Krasimir Georgiev aka Krasio had called him to inquire “about a case involving people close to the socialist Member of the Parliament, Kiril Dobrev.”

Until the hearing, the Prosecutor's Office insisted none of the magistrates whose phone numbers were found in Krasio's “black book” and were proven to have been in touch with the shady businessman, admitted talking about concrete cases or arranging their own promotion.

Kiril Dobrev is one of the 4 Members of Parliament whose names were revealed as Krasio's contacts, in addition to those of magistrates.

VSS had to chose Friday between Lazarov and the other candidate for the Pleven Court position, Nikolay Gospodinov, who was proven to have had 53 phone calls with Krasio. Both were rejected.

Lazarov also threw on the table the name of notorious former Pleven Mayor and later Interior Minister, Rumen Petkov, who was forced to resign over allegations of ties with organized crime. Lazarov said that upon receiving the call from Krasio he decided to call Petkov, who confirmed the people in the trail were connected to Kiril Dobrev, and told him Dobrev himself would call to solicit help.

Lazarov received 6 of the VSS votes and Gospodinov, who, despite the 53 phone calls, vowed to work to improve the image of the Pleven Court, received 1.

The Chair of the VSS Budget Committee, the infamous Ivan Kolev, who in the summer became the whistle blower in the “Krasio” scandal, admitted voting for Lazarov because he was an “honest man,” adding he reveled Krasio's existence in order to stop him from "misleading" his colleagues with big promises of lucrative appointments.

Chief Prosecutor, Boris Velchev, accuses Kolev of interfering with the investigation by publicly revealing Krasio's name and dealings.

The Chair of the Supreme Administrative Court, Konstantin Penchev, declared he would not support either candidate – Lazarov or Gospodinov.

“If the Chair of a major court accepts requests to influence cases by some individual, imagine what we are talking about,” Penchev is quoted as saying.

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