Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev Remains in Custody After Court Decision

The Sofia City Court decided to keep the mayor of Varna, Blagomir Kotsev, in custody.

The court hearing, which took place in the capital, concluded with a preventive measure of "detention" for Kotsev. The decision, which is subject to appeal, was issued following charges brought against the mayor in connection with an investigation into corruption and participation in an organized criminal group.

In its reasoning, the chairman of the court panel emphasized the key fact that Kotsev continues to perform the duties of mayor of Varna. From this position, he has significant resources and the ability to influence witnesses who have not yet been questioned.

The court refused to comment on whether there was a reasonable presumption that Kotsev had committed the crimes for which he was accused, in order to preserve the confidentiality of the investigation. Nevertheless, the court confirmed the existence of evidence resulting from the interrogation of the witnesses in the case. As an additional argument, it was pointed out that the second interrogation of Dian Ivanov, held on October 2, in which he stated that he had been pressured to testify against Kotsev during the initial interrogation, is still too early to be accepted as absolute truth. The court also stressed the intensive nature of the work on the investigation, which is proceeding at an appropriate pace.

Lawyer Nikolay Vladimirov, Kotsev's defense attorney, in his plea, pointed out that after the court last week had assessed that municipal councilors Yordan Kateliev and Nikolay Stefanov did not pose a danger of committing other crimes and released them under house arrest, the same should apply to Kotsev. The basis for this is the same charge against the three. Vladimirov stressed that it is not in his client's character to commit a crime, emphasizing the fact that the citizens of the third largest city in the country have voted for him to be mayor.

Prosecutor Violeta Stancheva expressed the opinion that the lack of new evidence does not give grounds for a change in the preventive measure. She argued her position with the interrogation of the witness Plamenka Dimitrova. According to the prosecutor, the risk of Kotsev committing a new crime is high, given the nature of the charges and the number of people involved. Prosecutor Angel Kanev commented on the interrogations of Ivelin and Nikolay Ivanov, emphasizing the identity of their testimonies, which describe the same criminal scheme, through which money was demanded in the same way.

The team of supervising prosecutors is to decide whether to request the removal of Blagomir Kotsev from the position of mayor of Varna. Prosecutor Kanev, in response to a question from the media after the hearing, explained that there is a tactic of investigation. He emphasized that there is no specific deadline for submitting a request for removal.

Regarding the anonymous witness, the prosecutor explained that he had been asked for money more than twice by different people. This happened at the end of 2024.

The prosecutor explained that judicial measures are taken individually for each defendant, regardless of their participation in a single group. This explains why the Sofia Court of Appeal released municipal councilors Yordan Kateliev and Nikolay Stefanov days ago, while the SGC ordered the detention of Kotsev.

Lawyer Vladimirov emphasized to the media that the grounds for the detention of the municipal councilors and Mayor Kotsev are the same, as the evidence and charges are identical. He asked a rhetorical question: "How can you go to the archives of the municipality when you are under house arrest?"

The anonymous witness was summoned urgently around 2:00 p.m. to the Anti-Corruption Commission in Sofia. Lawyer Vladimirov announced that the witness does not claim that he gave a bribe, but only that it was requested of him. He added that according to the witness's testimony, the money was not requested by Kotsev himself.