Bulgaria Interior Min: EU Will Be Angry about Vanished Mobsters

Bulgarian vice-PM and Minister of Interior Tsvetan Tsvetanov. Photo by BGNES

The vanishing of sentenced Bulgarian businessmen known as Galevi Brothers will have a negative effect on the EU's July monitoring report on Bulgaria, according to Bulgarian Minister of Interior Tsvetan Tsvetanov.

"Of course, there is no way that this event can be positively taken. The European Commission has repeatedly insisted that it wants to see criminals punished," explained Tsvetanov.

Controversial Dupnitsa businessmen Plamen Galev and Angel Hristov were convicted to 3 and 4 years in jail for organized crime activities.

But May 3 it turned out that they are nowhere to be found, after they failed to present themselves to serve their sentences.

Saturday Tsvetanov did not fail to use his usual rhetoric device by blaming Bulgaria's judiciary for the disappearance of the so-called brothers.

"It is the court that could have prevented this to happen by imposing detention on the defendants, rather than a bail," said the Bulgarian Minister of Interior.

The Galevi Brothers were on BGN 100,000 bail, which they chose to forfeit rather than render themselves after being sentenced.

Saturday Tsvetanov also expressed assurance that the convicted mobsters will be uncovered by the police in due time.

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