2024-10-02 01:39:33
He had a company that provided services to theaters in Razgrad and Smolyan
The District Prosecutor’s Office in Plovdiv submitted to the court a request for a restraining order against 40-year-old Petko Piskov, who was charged with having facilitated the embezzlement of BGN 937,889 by the director of the theater in Razgrad, Levon Manukyan, in September. The meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. For this crime, the law stipulates a penalty of “imprisonment” from 10 to 20 years, the state prosecution announced.
Manukyan himself was brought to criminal responsibility in the case for embezzlement. Charges have been brought against 34-year-old Boris Chilov and Atanas Georgiev, 32. They are charged with money laundering – for having received and kept money worth BGN 147,000, which they knew were acquired through crime. For this, the law provides for 1 to 8 years of imprisonment and a fine of 5,000 to 20,000 BGN.
The four defendants were initially detained by decree of the supervising prosecutor for a period of up to 72 hours. Yesterday, the District Court left Georgiev in custody, and Chilov was released on BGN 3,000 bail. Manukyan, on the other hand, was released on BGN 50,000, which he must pay within 10 days. The last two are also prohibited from leaving the country without the permission of a prosecutor.
In the course of the investigation, it was established that at the beginning of September at the theater in Razgrad, at least 41 people were appointed, who did not start work. They provided their data to intermediaries, including Atanas Georgiev, who in turn provided them to Petko Piskov. In the middle of the month, his company concluded a contract with the Theater-Musical and Philharmonic Center in Razgrad for the provision of services, including labor and wages, preparation of documents, etc. The same company provided similar services to the Rhodope Drama Theater in Smolyan.
The established 41 people have been drawn up with employment contracts with the Razgrad theater, and they have no relation to its activities or any activities in the field of art. It concerns people, some of whom work in construction, others – in public catering, and others are unemployed.
In mid-September, the Theatre-Musical and Philharmonic Center, whose director was Levon Manukyan, submitted a request to the Ministry of Culture for the payment of additional remuneration, including to the newly appointed 41 employees of the theater. Within 3 days – from September 17 to 19, remunerations in the amount of about BGN 25,000 per person or a total of BGN 937,889 were transferred to the accounts of each of the newly appointed employees.
The criminal scheme included, after the money arrived, it would be withdrawn either by the holders or by Georgiev. In the course of the investigation, it was established that some of the people handed over their cards to Atanas Georgiev, while others brought the withdrawn sums to him personally.
On September 26, two of the newly appointed employees of the theater agreed with Boris Chilov and Atanas Georgiev to meet at a gas station near Plovdiv to hand over the money that came to their accounts. At the place of the meeting, however, the two were detained by employees of the regional directorate of the Ministry of the Interior.
An investigation by the “Economic Police” department has been launched into the case. The car of Atanas Georgiev was searched, as well as a personal search of the same. Numerous items relevant to the case were discovered and seized, including lists of those assigned to the theater in Razgrad, as well as others assigned to Smolyan. Numerous bank cards of new employees with whom he handled were also seized, as well as a large amount of money – about BGN 125,000. It was established that Georgiev himself was fictitiously appointed to work in the theater in Smolyan.
The following day, the investigators searched the Theatrical-Musical and Philharmonic Center in Razgrad and the Rhodope Drama Theater, seizing accounting documents and numerous computer systems. A search was also carried out at the address in Smolyan, indicated as the address of the management of the company of the accused Petko Piskov, serving the theaters. On the same date, he and Levon Manukyan were detained and charged.
At the moment, active procedural and investigative actions are being carried out on the case.