Bulgarian Court Releases Varna Ex Municipal Head on Bail

Borislav Gutsanov was removed from the post of chair of the Varna Municipal Council after his March arrest over alleged malfeasance. Photo by BGNES

Former Varna Municipal Council Chair, Borislav Gutsanov, has been released from house arrest on a BGN 10 000 bail.

The rule was issued Monday by the District Court in Bulgaria's Black Sea captial.

Gutsanov was detained at the end of March during a special police operation codenamed “Jellyfish” alongside the Director of the Varna municipality ‘Autotransport’ Department, Pencho Penchev and Yana Krusteva, the Department’s Chief Accountant.

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

Gutsanov, a top member of the Bulgarian Socialist party, was removed from the post at the end of April. He has repeatedly said that the trial against him is political and has denied having any business operations with Daniel Slavov aka Dido Dankata, also detained during the Jellyfish” operation, and suspected of organizing contraband cigarette channels in the Varna area.

In May, Gutsanov and his wife announced they will sue Bulgaria in the Human Rights Court in Strasbourg over police brutality during the arrest.

Dankata was also released at the end of May on the record-high BGN 200 000 bail.

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