Prosecutors asked a court on Thursday, 22 October, to keep Sungurlare mayor Dimitar Gavazov and Belitsa mayor Radoslav Revanski in custody, said Burgas deputy regional prosecutor Miroslav Iliev. The Burgas Regional Court is hearing the request.

Officers from the GDBOP organised crime unit detained Gavazov and Revanski in special operations in Belitsa and Sungurlare on 20 and 21 October.

The background: Relatives of detained Sungurlare mayor protest outside Burgas regional police directorate

Prosecutors are checking whether some firms got an edge in public contracts run by Sungurlare municipality. In return, the firms were to pay 25–35% of the value of the contracts. So far, investigators have details of contracts worth about €7m, including street building and repairs to public buildings. Prosecutors suspect there are other contracts too.

Three people are charged with joining a criminal group to trade in influence, under Article 321, paragraph 6 of the Criminal Code. Besides the two mayors, the third defendant is Hristo Shirokov. He is under house arrest in another case, over offences at the Burgas water utility.

Prosecutors described the roles as follows. Gavazov is said to have influenced municipal staff who sit on the panels that pick contractors. Shirokov looked for firms interested in the contracts and put them in touch with the others. Revanski, as deputy chair of an association of municipalities, handled the logistics around money from the regional development ministry and the State Fund Agriculture. Sums and application papers were agreed at meetings.

The group began in early 2024 in Sungurlare and ran until 20 October 2026, the prosecution says.

The prosecutor also named a firm, Vera Stroy. He said it often takes part in the contracts and has ties to people close to Revanski. Investigators are gathering data on its owners and linked people. They are also checking trips abroad by Revanski and his family that the firm paid for. Iliev said Belitsa municipality has nothing to do with this case.

Prosecutors say the main evidence against Revanski is a witness statement. The witness says the mayor told him: "I am the man who shares out the portions", and asked for a kickback of between 25% and 35%.

Guards brought Gavazov and Revanski into the courtroom, while their lawyers read the case file. Gavazov's lawyer told reporters the evidence is not enough and prosecutors have not made specific claims. Municipal staff and Sungurlare residents gathered outside the courthouse to back their mayor.

Revanski told the court he is innocent and has nothing to do with the charge. He said he knows Gavazov and is glad he is in the DPS party. He also knows Shirokov. The Belitsa mayor added that he has never hidden, has always stood for order and rules, and that his municipality is among the most checked in the country. Revanski said he had never heard of anyone in Europe controlling all public contracts in Bulgaria with a single signature.

Revanski said he fully helped GDBOP and the DANS state security agency, yet was arrested like Pablo Escobar or a drug lord. He said officers first told him he would be led out without handcuffs. Then another uniformed officer got a call from above to cuff him.

"They should not play with ethnic peace, they are playing with fire," Revanski said as he entered the courtroom. As he left, he was asked if he "shares out the portions". He answered that this is a claim by Ivan Demerdzhiev.

Revanski is deputy leader of the DPS, and his arrest raised tension in Belitsa. The GDBOP and DANS operation there began around 8am on Wednesday. Late in the afternoon officers led the mayor out of the municipality in handcuffs. They took documents and computers from his home and from the municipal offices. The DPS's whole parliamentary group came to Belitsa, as did party leader Delyan Peevski, who sharply criticised the government.

According to BNT, Revanski is also under investigation for alleged misuse of EU money and for public contracts linked to the road agency API. Unofficial information says he has been charged in this case too. More details on the Belitsa investigation are expected.

Ahmed Mehmed, mayor of Ruen, suspects political motives behind the arrests and checks in municipalities. He believes mayors cannot feel safe. "In my view, what we are seeing is brutal," he said, adding that he worries more about what is happening in the country than about himself.

The court has yet to decide whether the two mayors stay in custody. Sungurlare municipality is to go through a financial audit, and expert reports will show what damage its budget may have suffered.