Police Raid Bulgaria's Varna City Hall in 'Jellyfish' Part 2

The Tuesday raid of the building of the City Hall in the Black Sea capital Varna aims at seizing documentation related to the draining of the municipality and of taxpayers' money since September, 2008. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

Police, prosecutors and investigators are raiding Tuesday the offices of the City Hall in the Black Sea capital Varna, Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, confirms.

According to Tsvetanov, the action is a continuation of the police operation codenamed “Jellyfish,” which began with the arrest of Municipal Chair, Borislav Gutsanov.

The goal of the Tuesday raid is the seizure of documentation related to the draining of the City Hall and of taxpayers' money since September, 2008 through foundations working on Roma integration, the Interior Minister further informed.

The Varna Regional Prosecutor, Vladimir Chavdarov, cited by the Bulgarian news agency BTA, however disproved Tsvetanov by saying his office's activities are not at all connected to the “Jellyfish” operation. According to the Prosecutor, the authorities are collecting evidence for malfeasance in office and corruption, but names of the individuals involved cannot be revealed in order to protect the investigation.

The municipal councilman from the ethnic Turkish party Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), Yanko Stanev, who was the President of the Foundation for Roma Integration “Vladislavovo” until a year and a half ago, also said he did not know anything about a new episode of the “Jellyfish” operation and denied any possibility the municipal budget had been drained through the Foundation. He did, however, admit that some mistakes and omissions were possible, but they would not amount to criminal activity.

Stanev further informed his office had not been searched and the Foundation worked on 22 projects total, of which just one was under a municipal program.

“Vladislavovo” is currently chaired by Maragarita Georgieva.

The Mayor of Varna, Kiril Yordanov, clarified that the current probe is related to funds for disadvantaged local Roma; denied signing any documents in this connection, and explained he knew nothing about the raid until one of the prosecutors visited his office Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson of the Varna police, Kalinka Pencheva, concurred with the statements of the Interior Minister that the activities inside the building of the City Hall are part of the “Jellyfish” special ops and stated that a third episode is forthcoming. Pencheva explained the contradiction between Tsvetanov and Chavdarov with the fact the police does not expect prosecutors to know the operations' code names.

Borislav Gutsanov, a top member of the Bulgarian Socialist party, was removed from the post of Chair of Varna's Municipal Council on April 28, 2010, following his arrest on March 31 over charges of alleged abuse of taxpayers’ money, namely for deals to purchase second-hand buses which were later sold to Varna's public transportation at much higher prices.

Borislav Gutsanov was arrested alongside the Director of the Varna municipality ‘Autotransport’ Department, Pencho Penchev and Yana Krusteva, the Department’s Chief Accountant.

Businessman Daniel Slavov aka Dido Dunkata was also taken into custody after being arrested in his own Hotel 'Capitol'.

The arrests came on allegations of a number of crimes, including the masterminding of a crime gang, including high-ranking officials, embezzlement and malfeasance in office, forging of documents.

Gutsanov has repeatedly said that the trial against him is political. He has denied to have had business operations with Daniel Slavov aka Dido Dunkata, who is suspected of organizing contraband cigarette channels in the Varna area and was arrested during the same police operation codenamed “Jellyfish”. Slavov is also behind bars.

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