Bulgarian Court Releases Notorious 'Octopus' on House Arrest

Notorious Bulgarian businessman Aleksei Petrov, who is tried on numerous counts for organized crime, has been released from detention to a house arrest.

The Sofia City Court took that decision Thursday based on Petrov's health condition, which was found to radically deteriorate during the time he was arrested.

The court also decided that the prosecution's claim that if Petrov is released from arrest, he would influence witnesses, lacks substantiation.

Aleksei Petrov was arrested in February 2010 in a much-publicized special operation by Bulgaria's police, codenamed Octopus.

Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov and Minister of Interior Tsvetan Tsvetanov did much to portray Petrov as the mastermind of an extensive organized crime network.

The trial against Petrov has however dragged for months with little progress, and with the prosecution forced to drop part of the charges against him.

In the early 1990s, Petrov was a business partner of Borisov. He has also served time as an agent in Bulgaria's special services, including newly founded DANS.

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