2024-09-03 18:13:30
The Sofia City Court refused to change the remand order for Stefan Dimitrov, who was accused of participating in a criminal smuggling group together with his father Marin Dimitrov, the former head of the Customs Agency Petya Bankova, the former Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Zhivko Kotsev and Nikolay Nikolov- Pascal.
According to the judicial panel, there is still reasonable suspicion that he has committed a crime and there is a risk of absconding if he is released.
The decision is not final and can be appealed to the Sofia Court of Appeal.
The affair broke out in April this year. Father and son Dimitrovi and Petya Bankova were then detained. Pascal, said to be a prominent smuggler, was not found in the country and was declared wanted. The former Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Zhivko Kotsev, is on bail of BGN 20,000. In the midst of the scandal, photos of Kotsev posing with a super expensive watch appeared in the media.
During today’s meeting, Dimitrov’s lawyer – Ivo Naydenov announced that charges have also been brought against the former head of “Border Police” – Petar Subev. He was imposed a bail of BGN 20,000, which was confirmed by the court.