"There is already evidence of what we have been saying for three years - how the mafia, the symbiosis between criminal "authorities", convicted persons, wanted by Interpol, together fight against the state in contradiction to the interest of the people," Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev said at a press conference in conjunction with the pre-trial proceedings of Sofia City Prosecutor's Office for an organized criminal group convicted of multiple crimes.
"It is about what some call a conquered state, others - mafia. It is about a fusion of institutions, criminals, thugs and people from all circles of in defense of illegitimate goals and interests. For an organized attack by oligarchs, not so much against institutions, but against citizens," the Prosecutor General added.
At the press conference at the National Investigative Service, a presentation was made containing evidence found in the home of one of the defendants in the pre-trial proceedings of Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office.
The Deputy Prosecutor General and Director of the National Investigation Service Borislav Sarafov, the Administrative Head of Sofia City Prosecutor's Office Iliana Kirilova, the spokesperson of the Prosecutor General Siyka Mileva and Atanas Ilkov, Director of the National Police Directorate General took part in the press conference.
Ivan Geshev announced that he would not allow organized crime to affect not only the interests and security of the people, but also of magistrates and judicial officials, "to be threatened, to be put under pressure".
Regarding the content of some of the materials presented during the presentation, the Prosecutor General noted, "I saw the VTB in the materials. If this is the Russian bank that is on the U.S. sanctions list and was a shareholder in KTB, how does that correlate with the malicious Russian influence and payment by certain individuals which are yet to be identified."
Ivan Geshev stressed that SANS should answer whether this does not constitute "malicious Russian influence" and whether it is not "the work of organizations and structures that contradict our commitments to our Euro-Atlantic partners".
Prosecutor General expressed hope that the Ministry of Interior and all law enforcement structures will answer the questions, who, what and how much pays for attempts to remove and intimidate magistrates and police officers.
"How much would a law for the closure of specialized structures cost?" Ivan Geshev asked. The logical question that arises and perhaps Mr. Zarkov (caretaker minister of justice) should answer, whether some bills that are clearly unconstitutional were written in the Ministry of Justice or somewhere else. The same applies to a previous similar draft by a political force."
Prosecutor General expressed confidence that Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office will do everything possible to establish the objective truth in compliance with the Constitution and the law. A decision is pending to separate materials from the pre-trial proceedings with a view of initiating other pre-trial proceedings.