Bulgaria Investigator Withdraws after Exposing Ex Defense Minister

Bulgaria's ex Defense Minister Nikolay Tsonev was busted on Thursday after attempting to bribe investigator Petyo Petrov with the aid of two intermediaries. Photo by BGNES

Petyo Petrov, the Bulgarian investigator whom ex Defense Minister Nikolay Tsonev attempted to bribe, is withdrawing from the case in question.

This has been Sunday announced by Petrov himself as cited by the BTA as the Sofia City Court was expected to decide on whether to keep Tsonev and the two intermediaries in the bribe scheme, financial consultant Tencho Popov and judge Petar Santirov.

Tsonev, Popov, and Santirov were arrested Thursday in a special operation after they offered EUR 60 000 to Petrov who has been investigating a BGN 120 M contract made by Tsonev with a private company during his term as Defense Minister (2008-2009).

Petrov is the one who exposed the bribery scheme to the police and the Prosecutor’s Office.

Earlier on Sunday, as Tsonev, Popov, and Santirov were taken to the courtroom, Popov shouted in the hallway that the investigator had demanded the bribe at his own initiative.

“Why didn’t they tell the police if I had been the one requesting the bribe?” asked Petrov on Sunday. He revealed the police had enough evidence obtained through special intelligence devices demonstrating that he was actually offered the bribe, and did not demand it.

The case that Petrov has been working on includes a BGN 120 M contract made by Tsonev for the construction of an optic cable known as “Strandzha 2”. According to the prosecutors, the deal is not only detrimental to the state but the optic cable is totally useless.

The Sofia City Court is expected to decide by the end of the day on Sunday whether the three defendants should be kept behind bars.

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