Murky Testimony Drags Bulgaria Ex Interior Official Bribe Case

Former Deputy Interior Minister, Raif Mustafa, who is charged with a bribery attempt, enters the Sofia City courtroom Monday in the company of his attorney. Photo by BGNES

The Sofia City Court began Monday the corruption trial against former Deputy Interior Minister, Raif Mustafa, and businessman Rosen Marinov.

The two are charged with offering a bribe to the ex Head of Bulgaria's Fishing Agency, Marin Dimitrov, to withdraw a claim submitted with the Supreme Administrative Court (VAS) with which Dimitrov wanted to stop a public tender won by Marinov.

Rosen Marinov, owner of the "Auto Engineering" company, won a public tender for the supply of cutters to the Fishing Agency before the time Dimitrov became its director. Upon being assigned to the post, the latter ordered a halt on all public tenders over lack of financing. Marinov then appealed before the Commission for Competition Protection (KZD) and won. Dimitrov, on his turn, appealed the KZD decision with VAS.

Mustafa became involved in the affair as an intermediary between the 2 because he knew both Marinov and Dimitrov. The Deputy Interior Minister, who was part of the previous Three-Way Coalition cabinet on the ticket of the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) party, was an acquittance of the Fishing Agency Director from the time they worked together in the police department in the southern city of Kardzhali. Because of his ties, Mustafa became the person offering Dimitrov the bribe.

Rosen Marinov was arrested in June 2009 in his offices and spent time in jail before being released on bail. Mustafa resigned as Deputy Interior Minister, but was never arrested.

The Prosecutor accuses Mustafa of offering Dimitrov to withdraw his claim against the cutters' order in exchange for BGN 50 000. He had been able to arrange a meeting between the 2 parties during which the businessman (Marinov) increased the bribe offer to BGN 100 000.

During the Monday trial, the ex Fishing Agency Head (Dimitrov) offered a contradicting testimony and unconvincing explanations as to why he claims he did not want the money and despised the conversations with Mustafa and Marinov, but initiated contacts with them. Dimitrov told the Court he did it because he is a very open and social individual. The witness also stated that after each conversation with the defendants he called a friend from the National Agency for State Security (DANS) to let him know about the bribe offer and ask for advice. According to the testimony, the latter advised Dimitrov to not get involved in “non-sense.”

When asked by the magistrates to explain in more detail why he did not refuse further contacts with the defendants, Dimitrov, said he did not want to “cut” Mustafa short because he was a powerful man in the ethnic Turkish DPS and his Agency was under the authority of the Agriculture Ministry, which at the time was also in the DPS hands.

In addition, Dimitrov first stated the Agency did not have money for cutters and later changed it to “it was difficult to find money for cutters.”

The two defendants insist it was Dimitrov who approached them and requested the bribe. Court reporters inform both demonstrated a sarcastic attitude towards the witness during his testimony.

The magistrates heart only Dimitrov because the defendants agreed that all other testimony can come from the investigation file without witnesses having to take the stand. They Court decided, however, to call for questioning the DANS employee in question and postponed the trial for May 5.

The prosecutor said he has a tape that will prove Dimitrov was the one approaching the businessman and Mustafa for the bribe. The defense team requested a copy of the tape while the magistrates also ordered a graphology expertise of the notes with the bribe amount that were, allegedly, handed by the defendants to the Fishing Agency Head.

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