Two mayors and a third person have been charged with taking part in a criminal conspiracy to trade in influence in Sungurlare municipality, Burgas district prosecutors said.
Bulgaria's organised crime unit (GDBOP) and the State Agency for National Security (DANS) detained the three in raids on 20 and 21 October in the Burgas and Blagoevgrad regions. Officers searched administrative buildings and homes in Sungurlare and Belitsa. They seized many documents on public procurement in the two municipalities and questioned many witnesses.
Evidence gathered so far shows the conspiracy began in Sungurlare municipality on an unspecified day in early 2024. According to the charges, it lasted until 20 October 2026. The charge falls under Article 321, paragraph 6 of the Criminal Code.
The prosecutor on the case extended the detention of the three to 72 hours. They became defendants on 22 October, when he handed them the charging orders.
The third defendant is already under house arrest in a separate pre-trial case.
On 22 October we reported that Sungurlare mayor Dimitar Gavazov was arrested on Tuesday. On Wednesday, dozens of people, including municipal staff and village mayors, stood outside the regional police directorate (ODMVR) in Burgas to back him. The third defendant is the DPS regional leader in Burgas, Hristo Shirokov, who is under house arrest.
Burgas district prosecutors will ask the court to hold the defendants in custody as a permanent measure.