Bulgarian press review, January 8, 2010

Press Review
Sofia, January 8

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS

"Monitor" reports that the mafia has threatened to kill a magistrate."Zemya" quotes Prosecutor General Boris Velchev as saying that Sofia City Prosecutor Nikolai Kokinov has received death threats. Out of concern for his safety, Kokinov has been given security, writes "24 Chassa". When approached, Kokinov declined ANY comments. However, court officials say that they saw him accompanied by a bodyguard as early as Wednesday. Kokinov's Deputy Roman Vassilev, who is also said to have received security, declined to comment too.

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"Standart News" writes that the Interior Ministry and the prosecuting magistracy are launching Operation "Bulgarian Octopus", which will round up gangsters with several pending cases.

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In a "Telegraph" interview, Commissioner Valeri Yordanov, Chief of the Sofia police, says that footage from CCTV cameras near the place where radio host Boris Tsankov was killed is unclear and his killers could not be seen. Footage is yet to be analyzed by experts. The Commissioner says that the police have enough operational methods to get to Tsankov's physical killers.

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"Troud" writes that just days before he was murdered, Boris "Bobby" Tsankov told magistrates that he was afraid of [alleged crime bosses] Stefan "Sako" Bonev, Meto Ilienski, Mityo "The Eyes", Georgi Vassilev's successors and Krassimir and Nikolai Marinovi, known as the Marguin Brothers. Tsankov said that he feared they might retaliate after he lifted the curtain on the underworld. The daily carries an interview with Lyudmil Rangelov, a defence counsel for the Marguins, who says that charges against the two are ridiculous. Given that the perpetrators are still at large, claims that Krassimir Marinov ordered the murder and Nikolai Marinov was his accomplice are beyond comprehension. According to Rangelov, the Marguins and Tsankov never crossed paths.
Tsankov ired the Marguins after he boasted he was going to make shocking revelations about some gang-style murders of recent years, "24 Chassa" reports. According to a high-ranking official of the Interior Ministry there is a grain of truth in Tsankov's disclosures, which made Krassimir and Nikolai Marinov feel threatened. According to the newspaper, there are solid leads that the brothers ordered Tsankov's murder. The modus operandi shows that the brothers had a hand in the killing. After boasting that they knew too much, mafia chronicler Georgi Stoev and Yordanka Zapryanova were also assassinated. Zapryanova, mother of shot financier Konstantin Dishliev, used to say that she knew vital information about the drug mafia and money laundering. She accused her Dishliev's brother-in-law, Brendo, of her son's death. Brendo is said to be linked to the Marguins.
Zapryanova was shot in 2007. "24 Chassa" reports that Tsankov had 12 sentences for fraud. There were 66 complaints against him by members of the public who he had swindled out of their money. There was evidence that Tsankov had made over 100,000 leva (roughly 50,000 euro) through fraud. Clouds started to thicken over his head after the arrest of the alleged drug boss Stefan "Sako" Bonev.
Tsankov was a police informer and had plans of taking up a career in politics, "168 Chassa" weekly writes.

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According to "Ataka", the Marguins donated money to the Bulgarian Socialist Party.

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The police are looking for another horror house, where the kidnapping ring, dubbed the Impudents, held their hostages. One of the arrested men confessed to a fifth location, but would not say where it was unless he got lighter sentence.The hideouts were used for two and a half years. Being part of a criminal group carries up to 15 years in prison. The law provides for a plea bargain with the prosecuting authorities, provided the suspects agree to spend at least ten years in prison, magistrates explained. The final decision is up to the court. Ring leaders might get an additional five years in prison.

THE HOME SCENE

Another 380,000 people run the risk of falling through the cracks of the health care system, said Katya Kashumova of the National Revenue Agency, quoted by "Douma", "Dnevnik" and "Klassa." The reason is changes to the Health Insurance Act effective January 1 under which the Health Insurance Fund will not cover costs for treatment if people have failed to medical insurance contributions for more than three months over a 36-month period. "Standart News" writes that those on the black list have until January 25 to settle their debts.

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"Pari" headlines "Big Brother in Excise Industry." "24 Chassa" also reports on a new ordinance by the Finance Ministry which introduces smart systems for fiscal controlin wineries. The systems will send real-time data to control bodies. Some 260 wineries will be overseen by the customs authorities.

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In an interview for "168 Chassa", Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Simeon Djankov says that his ambition is not just for Bulgaria to emerge from the crisis, but to take the country to a mid-European level, which is doable in six years.

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In an interview for "24 Chassa". Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova says that snow cleaning equipment will be stationed overnight in the capital's downtown when a snowfall is forecast. Fandakova also says that Sofia's draft budget allocates money for rehabilitation of parks and that the Sofia City Hall has agreed with the government to receive ownership of the Boris' Garden.
A "Pari" analysis raises the question whether Sofia's record-high budget will make any impact on the lives of Sofianites.

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"Troud" runs an interview with Ombudsman Ginyo Ganev. Some 11,471 complaints were forwarded to the Ombudsman. Most numerous are those related to disputes over property ownership and petitions for revisions of urban development plans, followed by complaints over poor public services, social activities, labour rights, health care and education.

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"Troud" carries an analysis on the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, founded by Ahmed Dogan and his associate on January 4 1990, which makes the point that the Movement never loses.

FOREIGN POLICY

In a leading feature "Troud" writes that as a row flared up between Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and his predecessor Sergei Stanishev, it emerged that Bulgaria has paid a ransom for a Bulgarian national, who was kidnapped in Somalia. Through its own sources "Troud" has confirmed that the incumbent government paid ransom money that was pledged by then Prime Minister Stanishev. Borissov and Stanishev refused to confirm the reports, saying that the information was classified. According to the daily, however, the national in question was a Bulgarian woman who was kidnapped by Somalis during Stanishev's tenure. She was working for a foreign company. After some written xchanges, Bulgaria promised to pay part of the ransom money. However, Borissov was surprised to find out that it was his cabinet that had to remit the money.

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Foreign Ministry official Assen Makedonov, who until last year was head of the Domestic Diplomatic Properties Agency, has been charged with large-scale misuse of funds, reports "24 Chassa". The daily cites records of his overseas business travels which show a nine-day trip to Honolulu for 18,000 leva (roughly 9,000 euro), an eight-day trip to Orlando, Florida for 20,000 leva, a one-week conference in Las Vegas for 17,000 leva, business meetings in Bangkok, Dubai, Palm Beach and the French Riviera for a total of 265,561 leva. Makedonov self-approved his trips abroad and his reports. According to a source at the prosecution magistracy, the Makedonov case might as well get a European flavour, as prosecutors want to summon MEP Ivailo Kalfin, former Foreign Minister and Makedonov's superior, for questioning, writes "24 Chassa".

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Seventh company will be authorized for committal to the NATO Mission in Kandahar, reports "Bulgarian Army" weekly.


Links to some Bulgarian info websites in English:

· http://www.bta.bg/site/en/indexe.shtml
· http://www.novinite.com/index.php
· http://www.focus-fen.net/

Most discussed topics of the day –Sofia, January 8,2010

· Bulgaria PM Boyko Borisov has made it clear that former PM and BSP leader Sergey Stanishev ordered a ransom to be paid for the release of 16 Bulgarian sailors who were kidnapped by Somali pirates last April. Borisov hit back at Bulgarian Socialist Party MPs who yesterday slammed him for paying part of an alleged USD 2 M ransom for the release of 16 Bulgarian sailors aboard the Malaspina Castle ship in the Gulf of Aden. He strongly suggested that his GERB government had been forced to pay the ransom that Stanishev had ordered.

· Bulgaria Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, has stated that the center-right GERB government is looking at the possibility of dispensing with the original interface proposal to monitor internet traffic and mobile phone calls. Tsvetanov was speaking after a meeting with the initiative committee who are against the interface proposal which will allow the Ministry of Interior access through a direct interface to the data for the calls and the mobile devices positioning of every single citizen without any legal reason.

· 18 people with criminal records have been detained in special police operations in the southern Bulgarian city of Plovdiv, District Polcie Directorate – Plovdiv announced. During the operations, which took place between the beginning of the year and January 8, the police arrested seven people, whom they were searching nationwide, five men with drugs and six prostituting women.