- His guarantee will be BGN 250,000
- According to the judge, however, the prosecution did not prove its case of embezzlement
Health problems, but also the cooperation of the investigators, brought Rumen Gaitanski-Valka out of custody after two months of stay there. The businessman, who turned himself in on August 16, is released on BGN 250,000 bail. The decision of Judge Victor Chaushev of the Sofia City Court is not final, but it is unlikely to be overturned, because the prosecutor’s office also insisted on a monetary guarantee and is unlikely to protest it. The reason is that Gaitanski’s health was not improving and he needed adequate treatment. It was not clear what the 67-year-old businessman was suffering from, because his lawyer Galya Galabova insisted that this personal information not be disclosed. She even asked for the case to be heard behind closed doors, but the judge did not agree.
From her words, it was understood that since the second day of detention, Gaitanski has been in medical facilities – the hospital attached to the prison and the Ministry of Internal Affairs hospital.
The businessman is accused of having instigated the misappropriation of BGN 148.5 million unsecured loan from BBR in 2019. In addition to him, the former judge Ivan Georgiev, who managed the company that took the loan, and the former head of BBR Stoyan Mavrodiev are also accused. which is unknown.
During Thursday’s case, it became clear that Gaitansky cooperated with investigators. He on
explained several times,
the last one was on October 8. He also provided all the documents that were requested of him.
“So far, most of the witnesses have been questioned and 74 volumes of evidence have been collected,” announced lawyer Galya Galabova.
Before releasing Gaitanski on bail, Judge Chaushev extensively reviewed the evidence collected so far. He specified that the opinion he expresses does not commit the investigators. From his definition, it became clear that the thesis of the prosecutor’s office that there was misappropriation has not been proven for the time being. Until now, there was evidence in the case that two non-existent contracts were presented as collateral for the loan. However, this led to the conclusion that Ivan Georgiev had committed a crime.
Then the judge focused extensively on the accusation of the former head of the BBR, Stoyan Mavrodiev, who is being investigated as the real perpetrator of the embezzlement. According to the indictment, Gaitanski was an instigator, and Georgiev was an assistant.
“In order for Stoyan Mavrodiev to have embezzled, evidence of direct intent must have been collected, but there is none,” said Judge Chaushev. He drew attention to two witnesses from BBR – Nikolay Mirchev and Andon Georgiev (one was Mavrodiev’s adviser, and the other worked in the bank’s credit department). The investigators
had made no effort to clarify their involvement in the transaction
Another witness, Malinkova, said that Mirchev presented the two contracts, which are part of the collateral for the loan. Nor were Andon Georgiev’s connections with Ivan Georgiev from the time when he worked as a judge in the Sofia District Court investigated.
The court quoted Krasimir Petrov’s testimony about a meeting of Rumen Gaitanski, Ivan Georgiev, appraisers and other people, at which Gaitanski gave instructions and advice, thus demonstrating that all the companies involved were dependent on him.
After the meeting, the prosecutor’s office stated that the charges raised so far may be refined, and that there may be other defendants.