Police raided the town of Belitsa, in Blagoevgrad region, today. Officers from the Chief Directorate for Combating Organised Crime (GDBOP) carried out a special operation. The authorities have not yet made an official statement, but unofficial reports say mayor Radoslav Revanski has been detained.
A day earlier, GDBOP also entered Sungurlare municipality in Burgas region and detained mayor Eng. Dimitar Gavazov.
Police have been in Belitsa since the morning. Officers checked several places in the town, and extra police stood at the main entrances and exits. They searched rooms in the municipal building and seized documents. Other addresses were probably searched too, among them the mayor's home.
Unofficial information says the check is over suspected misuse of EU funds. This has not been confirmed officially. There is no sign that Revanski has been charged, or that the operation found any specific violations.
On 20 October we reported that Sungurlare mayor Dimitar Gavazov was detained in an investigation into public procurement. GDBOP and State Agency for National Security (DANS) officers entered the municipality that morning and seized documents and other material.
Revanski is a deputy chairman of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) and sits in the party's inner leadership. He is one of the closest allies of party leader Delyan Peevski and one of the best-known DPS faces in southwest Bulgaria. He has been mayor of Belitsa since 2015.