Bulgarian Family to Get 'Cancer Ransom' Money Back, Court Rules

Businessman, Angel Bonchev (l) and his wife Kameliya (r), who are part of the victims of the kidnap gang "The Impudent," are pictured here in court during the trial. Photo by BGNES

A Bulgarian family, involved in a peculiar kidnapping saga back in 2008, should get back the money they were forced to donate to a foundation fighting breast cancer, a court has ruled.

Sofia City Court delivered its keenly expected ruling on Thursday.

Angel Bonchev, former president of the Bulgarian Litex Football Club, and his wife, Kameliya, were both abducted for ransom in July 2008, allegedly by an organized crime group, later called "The Impudent".

Kameliya Boncheva was released on July 30 2008, 20 days after she was kidnapped. She disappeared when attempting to give her husband's abductors the first BGN 500 000 of the total of BGN 3 M that they have demanded as ransom. Angel Bonchev himself was kidnapped on May 22 and released fifty days later.

A day before Kameliya Boncheva was released, her husband announced he is donating the sum of EUR 157,000 to the "Tomorrow for Everyone" foundation, which fights breast cancer. Bonchev said the money is what his friends had collected for him to pay as a ransom for the freedom of his wife.

Back then, the chairwoman of the foundation, Rumyana Kozareva, denied speculations that the money is to be given to the kidnappers, saying that Bonchev's move was very surprising to them.

Bonchev claims he was forced to "donate" the money to the foundation, which has not shown any interest towards his family during the past 2 years, even though his wife is battling cancer.

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