Charges Pressed against the Mayor of Mladost Who Was Arrested for Bribe-Taking

The Prosecutor's Office on 18^th of April pressed charges agianst the mayor of Mladost, Desislva Ivancheva, for bribe-taking in particularly large amounts. Half a million euro is the amount she requested from an investor for issuing a building permit. Intermediary in the scheme is former mayor of Mladost disctric, Petko Dyulgerov. The investigation started in December.

The mayor of Sofia’s Mladost district, Dessislava Ivancheva, was arrested on 17th of April during an anti-corruption operation.

According to the investigators, she blackmailed not only investors, but ordinary citizens as well.

The problems for the investor who lived abroad for years, started immediately before the start of the construction works. The Mayor's team delayed and did not move forward the case which blocked the work of the investor, the Prosecutor's Office said. Then came the offer by the intermediary.

Initially, the bribe requested was just over EUR 1 million, but after the negotiations, the size was dropped to half a million. The money was supposed to be paid in tranches, and the initial installment was 70,000 euros. Desislava Ivancheva, however, was extremely cautious and delayed the meeting several times.

A team of nearly 100 investigators have been waiting for more than 20 days for the scheduling of the first meeting.

The mediator and the investor met at a café near the Crystal garden in Sofia on 17^th of April. That is where the sum of 70,000 euros was handed over. Then the mediator met with the two women (Mayor and Deputy Mayor) and handed the money, which was marked.

They sat down, drank coffee, stayed for two hours and then the women took the money. The intermediary took EUR 14,000 out of the 70,000 euros, which is his share. We waited until the mayor took her share of the money, Ivan Geshev, Head of the Specialized Prosecutor's Office explained.

Minutes later, the two women were detained outside the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Sofia. The money was found in a box in the backseat of the car.

After having gone to the mayor's car there was a call from the intermediary who called the person who testified before us (the investor) and told him that everything was alright and he (the investor) would not have any more problems, Plamen Georgiev, Chair of the anticorruption commission says.

The prosecutor’s office explained that all detainees' rights were respected at the time of the arrest. Handcuffs have been used to prevent the traces of marked money from being wiped off.