The Varna Court of Appeal upheld the pre-trial detention measures determined by the Regional Court for Nikolay Stefanov and Yordan Kateliev, detained with the mayor of Varna, Blagomir Kotsev, on charges of participation in an organized crime group, corruption, and money laundering.

The two are under pre-trial detention measures of “financial guarantee” - 200,000 leva for Stefanov and 150,000 leva for Kateliev.

According to the Court of Appeal, at present, there is a reasonable suspicion of involvement in the crime. The danger of committing a crime has not disappeared, especially since the Regional Court has protected another witness. This shows that the risk of undue influence on participants in the criminal proceedings has not completely disappeared, the appeal court's reasoning states.

In the appeals, the defendants' lawyers claim that there is no danger of their clients committing a crime, and that the amount of the financial guarantees is excessive and disproportionate. According to the Court of Appeal, however, the amount of the imposed financial guarantees was determined after an assessment of the property and income status of the two defendants. The decision is not subject to appeal.