The story you will read below may be the biggest corruption scandal uncovered in Bulgarian history, as well as being the most conspicuous failure of the prosecution and the courts to investigate corruption at the highest levels of power. In theory, it could also be the most sophisticated form of slander to accuse former Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov and PM Boyko Borissov of accepting large bribes from the lottery mogul Vassil Bozhkov.
According to the Bulgarian prosecutor's office, however, this story does not deserve further attention and is not worthy of going to court where the evidence can be examined and its authenticity established. At the same time, the same facts were deemed sufficient for the US Treasury Department to impose sanctions for corruption under the Magnitsky Act on two of the participants, Vassil Bozhkov and Vladislav Goranov.
Capital Weekly got access to the full text of the prosecutor's decree for termination of the investigation into the alleged blackmailing of Mr Bozhkov by the two politicians. Below you can find a summary of the most important findings (with verbatim translation of the most telling passages), which should let you form your own opinion about the work done by the prosecutor and the investigators, and the extent of corruption in the country, which runs far deeper than the exchange of money for favors.
"The weakest state is stronger than the strongest businessman"
To the Prosecution's credit it did not completely botch its investigation into the case, like on other occasions. The leading prosecutor and investigators worked extensively on gathering evidence on each of the elements of the charge, interrogated 80 witnesses and the results are reflected in detail and in good faith in the 38-page suppression order.
First, the Prosecution evaluated Bozhkov's claims that he was "motivated" to start paying Boyko Borissov via then-Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov in the 2017-2019 period due to fears that a set of proposed legislative changes would affect his lottery business if adopted by the GERB-dominated parliament.
"The witness Bozhkov claims that a few days after the adoption of the proposal for amendment and supplement to the Gambling Act Boyko Borissov called him on the phone and in the conversation he said "you saw what we did, go to Vladi [Goranov], he will tell you what to do," the Prosecution writes. According to Bozhkov's testimony, he called Vladislav Goranov and they set a meeting at the Finance Ministry, where Goranov told him that "you will have to pay up" unless he wanted his business to fall under the new, higher tax regime. "The weakest state is stronger than the strongest businessman," Goranov allegedly told Bozhkov, which (according to the testimony) forced him to start bribing.
The prosecution found that there was plenty of testimony that Bozhkov went on to visit the Ministry of Finance many times in the next two years. A dozen witnesses say that, every time before making his regular visits to Goranov, Bozhkov ordered not only a gift envelope of whiskey and cigars to be prepared for him, but also withdrew large sums of cash, which he would put in an envelope and place in the inside pocket of his coat or in his Louis Vuitton bag.
This is where the Prosecution's strange conclusions begin. The meetings between Bozhkov and Goranov at the ministry were always one-on-one, the investigators conclude, hence there was no evidence that the money was passed to the minister. What is even stranger is that, despite the diametrically opposing claims, the Prosecutors don't seem bothered to check the objective proof any further.
An offer to buy a football club that can't be refused
Another accusation described by Bozhkov is also barely getting the attention it deserves - the way he was allegedly pressured to take over the financing of the Levski football club by Borissov.
"The witness Vassil Bozhkov testified that in March 2019 Boyko Borissov called him and asked him to "come and talk about football". The witness went to the government residence in Boyana. During the conversation, Borissov told Bozhkov that he had to buy PFC Levski. Bozhkov did not agree to take over the club and refused because he did not want to deal with football and was not a Levski supporter, offering to give money for advertising or to sponsor the club Borissov did not agree and insisted on [Bozhkov] taking over the club, saying that the situation required it. According to witness Bozhkov, it was clear from Borissov's tone that he was not giving him any choice. Given Borissov's character, Bozhkov knew that if he did not agree, there would be trouble," the Prosecution writes.
Despite that information - which openly contradicts the counter-claims of ex-Levski owner Spas Rousev and Boyko Borissov - the Prosecution chose to leave this case hanging as well.
"Full support" for Nova TV and GERB
Lastly, the Prosecution declined to investigate further the claims that Bozhkov was pressured into signing an unprofitable advertisement deal with Nova Group when one of the largest TV networks in Bulgaria came under the control of GERB-friendly mogul Kiril Domusvhiev and when the lottery mogul was allegedly coaxed to give money for GERB party activities to Borissov's PR specialist Sevdalina Arnaudova.
Dozens of witnesses - secretaries and security guards at Bozhkov's offices - testified that Borissov's PR Arnaudova, and her husband, Delyan Dimitrov, would regularly - at least once a month, and sometimes more often - visit Bozhkov's office and take an envelope marked "for Sevi" from them. According to some of them, there was apparently money in these envelopes, while others stated that they had this impression. One even testified that he once peeked into such a gift envelope and saw that there were banknotes inside, but the prosecution countered that this testimony contradicted Bozhkov's own testimony in which he claimed that the money for Arnaudova was always in a letter envelope and not in gift envelopes. Borissov, Goranov and Arnaudova deny ever receiving money from Bozhkov. Borissov and Goranov deny ever forcing Bozhkov to do anything, let alone threatening him.
In the end, prosecutor Marina Nenkova of the State Prosecutor's Office accepted that this case is just about believing someone's word against someone else's and there is not enough conclusive evidence to establish beyond doubt that Bozhkov was threatened by Borissov and Goranov. The investigation was closed.
The bigger picture
This is the last out of several cases of Boyko Borissov's reputation getting "laundered" by the Prosecution under the temporary leadership of Borislav Sarafov. In three-and-a-half months, the Prosecutor's office terminated all three of the most serious investigations, in which there were indications of Borissov's involvement in influence peddling, corruption schemes and money laundering.
At the end of August, the pre-trial proceedings were dropped concerning the photos and video from former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov's bedroom at the Boyana residence, which showed gold bars and wads of 500 euro bills in a drawer on the bedside table, with a gun on top. In mid-October, Borissov was also acquitted of the Barcelonagate scandal - there was apparently no evidence of his involvement in the purchase of the house in Barcelona, where Borislava Yovcheva, a former model and allegedly his partner, lived.
Hence, the closure of the Bozhkov files is a worryingly expected and predictable conclusion to the process of "laundering" that was mentioned in the leaked WCC council recording from May of last year. This means that, despite all the lofty talk of constitutional reforms, new anti-corruption institutions and sanctions from influential international partners like the USA and the UK, high-level politicians will not be properly investigated for graft any time soon.
The story you will read below may be the biggest corruption scandal uncovered in Bulgarian history, as well as being the most conspicuous failure of the prosecution and the courts to investigate corruption at the highest levels of power. In theory, it could also be the most sophisticated form of slander to accuse former Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov and PM Boyko Borissov of accepting large bribes from the lottery mogul Vassil Bozhkov.
According to the Bulgarian prosecutor's office, however, this story does not deserve further attention and is not worthy of going to court where the evidence can be examined and its authenticity established. At the same time, the same facts were deemed sufficient for the US Treasury Department to impose sanctions for corruption under the Magnitsky Act on two of the participants, Vassil Bozhkov and Vladislav Goranov.
