Bulgarian Judge Confirms Busted Colleague Was Passing Bribe

Sofia City Court chair Kolev gave a special press conference after the arrest of one of his colleague over a bribery affair. Photo by BGNES

Petar Santirov, a judge from the Sofia City Court, has been involved in the attempt to bribe an investigator, according to a colleague of his.

Georgi Kolev, Chair of the Socia City Court, has confirmed the information announced earlier by the Chief Prosecutor’s Office and the Interior Ministry, as cited by BGNES.

Earlier on Thursday, the police arrested former Defense Minister Nikolay Tsonev for attempting to bribe an investigator to block a pre-court probe against him, as well as judge Santirov and financial consultant Tencho Popov, who acted as intermediaries passing a EUR 60 000 bribe.

The Chair of the Sofia City Court Georgi Kolev announced that he had not had access to the evidence against the three men because the probe was being processed by the National Investigation Service.

Kolev explained that there had been indications that his colleague Santirov may be involved in illegal dealings.

“I don’t think that I should be the judge in charge of this case,” he stated adding that if all Sofia judges beg to be struck off the list, the Supreme Court of Cassation would have to appoint a judge for the bribery trial of the three men.

More details about the special police operation that led to the detention of ex Defense Minister Nikolay Tsonev, ex Finance Ministry Secretary Tencho Popov, and Judge Santirov READ HERE

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