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Tsvetelin Tsvetanov
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The confiscation case against Tsvetelin
Tsvetanov was ahead of the criminal for bribery
The former head of the Executive Agency “Automobile Administration” Tsvetelin Tsvetanov, who is also a defendant in a bribery case, can part with BGN 451,046. The seizure of the money was confirmed by the Veliko Tarnovo Court of Appeals on March 18th, it became known on Wednesday.
The confiscation was requested by the Commission for Combating Corruption and Confiscation of Illegally Acquired Property (CCAC). First, the Pleven District Court ruled in favor of the state, and now the Tarnovo Court of Appeal. The ruling of the Supreme Court of Cassation is forthcoming.
Tsvetelin Tsvetanov was detained on March 30, 2016, just a year and two months after he headed the car administration on January 13, 2015. He is from Pleven, he is an engineer by profession, he worked for five years in “Exploration and production of gas and oil”, he was also the regional head of the automobile administration for Pleven, Lovech and Gabrovo. At the end of 2012 he was released and became the head of a municipal company.
After his arrest in 2016, a search of his father-in-law’s house in Dolni Dabnik turned up BGN 401,950 in secret. Another BGN 47,690 was found in his apartment in Sofia.
The former head of the car administration, who is almost 50 years old, has received 7 charges, including charges of money laundering for leading a criminal group to solicit and receive bribes. The so-called a tranquility fee was collected from carriers, and the group also sold driver’s licenses. Tsvetanov has been in custody for more than a year. Along with him, seven other people are on trial. The case was filed in the specialized court in 2019 and is still ongoing there. The previous meeting was on March 18, and the next is on April 26. Four witnesses were called for that time.
How is it possible with a salary of BGN 2,130 to accumulate nearly BGN 500,000 in savings, the prosecutor’s office asked during the detention measure in 2016.
The confiscation case established that between 2006 and 2016 Tsvetelin Tsvetanov legally received BGN 256,788. This amount includes, in addition to salaries, a loan, overdraft, car sale, tax refund and benefits.
However, the former head of the automobile administration claimed that he had other legal incomes – from the production and sale of tobacco, from donations, loans and from participation in games of chance.
Magistrates are investigating in detail whether this is the case. In the course of the case it became clear that he received nearly BGN 7,000 from tobacco, but in 2004 and 2005.
He presented two donation contracts for a total of BGN 62,000, as well as six loan receipts for a total of BGN 51,800. The donation was from his father and the loans from two friends. All three have been questioned.
However, the court noted that the receipts and contracts were not notarized and were therefore challenged by the CCAC. An expertise was made on the signatures, which proved that they were authentic. However, the court did not give credence to this evidence.
Tsvetelin Tsvetanov also presented 252 sheets with 1429 slips from games of chance. On this issue, the magistrates are adamant that it is not at all clear from the slips that he is the person who received the profits because his name is not written.
His defense disputes the confiscation of the sum of BGN 401,950, arguing that when it was found in the house in Dolni Dabnik, the former head of the automobile administration did not live there. He and his wife were rented in Sofia.
However, the magistrates referred to the records of the search and the interrogations of the witnesses. One of them explained that during the search Tsvetanov’s father-in-law said that the room with the money was used by his daughter and Tsvetelin Tsvetanov. His permanent address was also there. Therefore, the court accepts that they are his.
In addition to the money, the confiscation of half of the fishpond worth BGN 11,750 was requested. According to the court, the former car boss had enough legal means to buy it.
The confiscation case does not depend on the criminal case.
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