Top Bulgaria Criminal Boss Appears before Supreme Magistrates

Angel Hristov, one of the two notorious Galevi Brothers, on his way to be questioned by Bulgaria's Supreme Judicial Council in the aftermath of scandalous reports he was spotted dining with a high-ranking judge. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria's Supreme Judicial Council (VSS) will examine the cell phone invoices of Angel Hristov and judge Panayot Genkov, Tsoni Tsonev, Head of the VSS Ethics Commission informed Monday.

The aim of the probe is to find out if the two held phone conversations. Mobile operators in Bulgaria keep phone logs for six months only.

Angel Hristov, one of the two notorious Galevi Brothers, was questioned by VSS Monday. The conversation lasted only 10 minutes and Hristov declined any comments for the media upon its conclusion.

On his part, Tsonev told reporters that Hristov stated he did not know Genkov, had never met him, and did not recognize him as a public figure.

The latest judicial system scandal was about to unfold amidst a report of bnews.bg that the magistrate from the Supreme Administrative Court, Panayot Genkov, and Hristov have been spotted sharing a table in a restaurant in Sofia.

The VSS probe proved the reports wrong – waiters' accounts and restaurant receipts showed that the two were indeed in the same restaurant, but never sat on the same table. The information was further confirmed by the President of the Bulgarian Basketball Association, Mihail Mihaylov, who was the individual Genkov had been meeting for dinner. VSS also requested information if tax evasion cases against Hristov were filed with the Supreme Administrative Court where Genkov is the head of the Unit dealing with appeals of penalties imposed by the National Revenue and Customs Agencies. The report showed that no such cases exist thus VSS was unable to establish any connection between the two.

Meanwhile, Genkov announced he is going to file a defamation suit, saying the scandal was a personal attack on him. He firmly denies knowing Hristov.

Angel Hristov and Plamen Galev aka The Galevi Brothers are tried for organized crime and racketeering in the western town of Dupnitsa.

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