The Specialised Prosecutor’s Office instituted pre-trial proceedings for a crime under Chapter One of the Criminal Code

14 July 2020

The Specialised Prosecutor’s Office separated materials from the pre-trial proceedings against the accused Vasil Bozhkov and other persons for participation in an organized criminal group and other crimes.

On the basis of the separated materials, a new pre-trial proceeding was instituted for a crime under Chapter One of the Criminal Code, for which the law envisages a sentence of imprisonment of ten to twenty years, life imprisonment or life imprisonment without parole.

Some of the collected materials are material evidence collected under the Criminal Procedure Code. With the permission of the supervising prosecutors, in compliance with Article 198 of the Criminal Procedure Code, in view of the fact that it is a case of high interest to the public and aware of its responsibility to the Bulgarian citizens and the society for preservation of the legal order in the country, as well as in observance of the right of Bulgarian citizens to be informed, enshrined in Article 41 of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Specialised Prosecutor’s Office discloses the content of the evidence, namely four telephone conversations of the accused, to whom Special Investigative Means were applied.

On 10 June 2020, the accused Vasil Bozhkov had a conversation with a person for whom there is information from a SANS report that he was Ognyan Stefanov:

Bozhkov: Hello.

Man: Mr. Bozhkov, hello!

Bozhkov: Hello. How are you?

Man: Now, I’m calling a little late, but I turned off the sound and didn't hear the call. I am sorry about that.

Bozhkov: Well, it’s nothing. No problem. You can call at any time.

Man: Yes. So how am I?

Bozhkov: I read your analysis...

Bozhkov: Yes. I had, I had a proposal from some politicians to form a party and support them. And yes, they could get me into Parliament. And mine, my supporting points, tomorrow I will give them, about a political movement...

Man: Huh. Well, and the Constitution is also crying out for change. And, huh.

Bozhkov: Well, we will not gather one hundred and eighty deputies. But I think that Geshev is not a problem for us if we come to power, because we can cut his powers without changing the Constitution.

Man: Yes. They...

Bozhkov: It says what the mandate is and how long it lasts, but what exactly the powers are is described in the Law on the Judiciary. There, we can make changes without the Constitution.

Man: Yes.

Bozhkov: If we make him a figurant as the President, exactly what will Geshev’s harm to us be...

Man: Yes…

Bozhkov: But my tactic is, I am telling you that because I feel you close to me, first to overthrow Vladi and then one by one... You can see that I don't, I don't pay attention to anyone else. I am only hitting Vladi and Boyko. I don’t care about the others, no matter how hard they are trying to distract me.

Man: Yes...

Man: Well, and Tsetso Vassilev was hit hard, but, ah.

Bozhkov: Well, Tsetso Vassilev was like a toy compared to me. You have no idea what the blow at me was.

Man: He doesn’t have this, uh, how to say, ah. He has the knowledge, but there is no, mm, no ambition, no sharpness. And without sharpness this battle and war cannot be fought.

Bozhkov: Well, no. I can tell you. Tsetso is my friend. But Tsetso is a clerk.

Man: Yes.

Bozhkov: Tsetso is not a fighter, do you understand?

Man: Academic, yes.

Bozhkov: Yes. And I’m not. I’m a fighter.

Man: Ha-ha.

Bozhkov: Until they knock me down, I will fight. I think that...

Man: Well...

Bozhkov: things are going to, to me defeating them, so...

Man: Ha-ha. Ah.

 

 

On 9 July 2020, the accused Vasil Bozhkov had a conversation with a person who is currently unidentified:

Man: Can I send it to you and if possible, can you tell me where to send some, to whom, to anyone, some email. It doesn’t matter – can be to your lawyer. It doesn’t matter to me.

Bozhkov: Well, send it to me, to my e-mail, to my e-mail... (not understandable).

Man: Well, you have to send it to me by text message, I’m preparing it.

Bozhkov: Hey now. Here, here I will send it, to the Signal,

Man: Yes. Okay.

Bozhkov: I will write it now. I’ll send it to “Signal”.

Man: Yes. Okay.

Bozhkov: I will write it now.

Man: My second question is...

Bozhkov: Okay.

Man: again, again I am asking you directly, it is a very direct question, that’s how I’m set up as a person. Thirteen witnesses I have to take with me, probably in September or October in, uh, say it, in New York. I’m waiting for the judge to give me a date.

Bozhkov: Yes.

Man: I’m not sure because...

Bozhkov: Mmm.

Man: According to all my reports, I’ll hire for them there in, uh, there’s a little town of an acquaintance of mine. The lawyer in charge of my case has a house. I will hire her house. But, uh, it’s going to be a huge expense. I’m asking you directly, can I count on support about thirty thousand dollars?

Bozhkov: Kha...

 

On 10 July 2020, the accused Vasil Bozhkov had a conversation with a person who, according to a SANS report, was likely to be Alexander Paunov:

 Man: Yes.

Bozhkov: Hello, Sasho. I called you last night, but we couldn't hear each other.

Man: Well, I didn’t hear you because I was watching the football match and I threw the phone in the bedroom.

Bozhkov: Аh.

Man: I was in the living room and I am, I didn’t hear you.

Bozhkov: What do you say about the protest? But my question is different. This lumpen Vladi, will he come now, or he will answer in writing?

Man: Well, I think he’ll answer in writing. Uh...

Bozhkov: Okay, so no need to send, no need to send about ten thousand people to Parliament?

Man: No, no, no, no, no. I’ll tell you why. So he...

Bozhkov: (not understandable) that’s why I’m calling you.

Man: Until, today it is the tenth of July, well, until the tenth of July he must give in writing. Because I was watching the parliamentary control yesterday (not understandable).

Bozhkov: Yes, I read what it says and he will not come.

Man: N’, no. No, he just doesn’t have it, does he? Based on what he will give in writing today, we will then make questions to continue. So it doesn't make sense. It doesn't make any sense today. No, he, in my opinion, should continue ah the protests. The protests must continue.

Bozhkov: Yes, yes, they will continue. Even now we are creating Headquarters of the Protest to unite them a bit, as, aren’t they, (not understandable) of course, all kinds of lumpens.

Man: Yes.

Bozhkov: And look what they did today. Everyone wants to ride it. Some are called (not understandable), others with that.

Man: Yes, yes.

Bozhkov: If I hadn’t poured them ten or fifteen thousand,

Man: Yes.

Bozhkov: the protest will be reduced to, to two thousand and various politicians will pass by, to greet them, to (not understandable) to them and that’s it.

Man: That’s right. That’s right, that’s right. But look what. And, I think, well, even if they come, we here finish very early, uh, and the Parliament will be empty. They better go in front of, ah, ah, mini', you them,

Bozhkov: I, I, I would send them to you. In half an hour they would start to (not understandable).

Man: Yes, yes. He’s gone, he’s gone.

Bozhkov: If Vladi is gone, it doesn't make sense.

Man: No, it doesn't make sense.

Bozhkov: No.

Man: It's better to do it in front of the Council of Ministers. In front of the Council of Ministers

Bozhkov: Well, he, Boyko, acted like a fagot too, but...

Man: Yes, that’s why. No.

Bozhkov: (not understandable) The press conference, he said he would give a press conference. Okay. We are building a protest headquarters

Man: That’s right. That’s right.

Bozhkov: Whatever.

Man: There are no leftists, there are no rightists here, and we are talking about saving Bulgaria. That’s what it’s about, from, uh, those bloodsuckers. Well, we’ll keep in touch then.

Bozhkov: No, this is a good, good slogan to upload on Twitter and Facebook. There are no left, no right, we are all furious.

Man: Yes, yes. Yes. Yes. Ha-ha. Well, we’ll keep in touch and coordinate things, to tell you.

Bozhkov: But I was pleased with how the crowd is managed on this, on the networks.

Man: Right? That’s it.

Bozhkov: Yes. Go there, go there, and they go. Things happen a bit slowly, don’t they, because it’s a crowd, and it can’t run.

Man: Well, things still have to be coordinated.

Bozhkov: The reaction can be seen in fifteen or twenty minutes, half an hour, the crowd starts to react.

Man: That’s right, that’s right. However, it still reacts. It reacts a little late because there is a loss of energy along the route.

Bozhkov: Yes, of course.

Man: This is also the case in electrical engineering.

Bozhkov: Until the information is received, until it spreads everywhere. One protests...

Man: That’s right.

Bozhkov: Mmm.

Man: And if you have something else to let go, to throw some gasoline in the fire.

Bozhkov: Well, I’m inciting now.

Man: Think about it. Think.

Bozhkov: I’m inciting the people; they will take them out and let them go.

Man: Mmm. Well.

Bozhkov: It doesn’t make sense anymore. I need to have coordination and

Man: All right.

Bozhkov: coordinated actions.

Man: All right. Well, what you can do is to act from there, we – from here.

Bozhkov: Well, I’m a little far away, so I rely on people like you.

Man: Well, okay. You know, uh, I can always be relied on. We’ve known each other for a long time and you know I’m firmly, firmly behind you.

Bozhkov: I’m sure you are firmly behind me, and that you are good at it, too.

Man: Ha-ha-ha.

 

On 12 July 2020 (Sunday), the accused Vasil Bozhkov had a conversation with a person for whom there are data from a SANS report that he is Ognyan Stefanov:

Bozhkov: Hello.

Man: Hello.

Bozhkov: Hello.

Man: Hello, Mr. Bozhkov.

Bozhkov: Well, I decided to call you, as I am sending you text messages several times as you write. And they fall, they fall, they can’t go. I do not know why.

Man: Is that so?

Bozhkov: I thought, let me call you, yes, let me call you. But it’s nothing special. Well, just to hear you.

Man: Yes. Yeah right. Yeah right. Yes, yes, yes.

Bozhkov: Otherwise you see that the pro-project is going according to plan.

Man: Well...

Bozhkov: Point one – cleansing the power from the junta. Point two – creating something different and new.

Man: Uh, we’re watching, even I, I’ll tell you, the expectations are, are very high to…

Bozhkov: Yes.

Man: to appear, to have more things appear.

Bozhkov: No. It doesn’t make sense anymore. What more should I give. We are only distracting the protest.

Man: Yes.

Bozhkov: Now protest, protest to the hole and we are crushing Boyko. Look, yesterday he was crying, making excuses, lying, lies were prompted to him. I give you materials what to write about. He is praying, asking the employers for help.

Man: Yes, yes, yes. Of course.

Bozhkov: So you have to go to the end! Boyko, Geshev. Boyko, I mean the entire government and Geshev.

Man: Yes, yes.

Bozhkov: And then to see what Government will Rumen Radev make. There advice should be given.

Man: Well, by the way, I had told him, I had told him some things about when he would make, and,

Bozhkov: In his previous government there was (not understandable).

Man: for Minister of Interior this Plamen, Plamen...

Bozhkov: Uzunov.

Man: Uzunov. I had told him whose man he was.

Bozhkov: But in his first government more than half of them were Shishi’s people, so now we have to...

Man: Well, that’s what I have in mind. And I told him directly. But why so? Because it’s so. Ha-ha. How why?

Bozhkov: But look, he doesn't care about his people at all. He burns them one after another.

Man: Well, that’s enough for him.

Bozhkov: No, I do not mean the President, I mean Shishi.

Bozhkov: And the struggle continues to the end. There’s no stopping. Today they are on the street again.

Disclosing the content of the above conversations the purpose of the Specialised Prosecutor’s Office is to maximize public awareness. According to the case law, the data obtained as a result of the Special Investigative Means (SIM) are subject to the special law (Law on Protection of Classified Information) until the bodies of the pre-trial proceedings by virtue of their planned investigative tactics in each specific case refer to the information received through SIM and the means of proof by which the information is reproduced. Once the pre-trial authorities or the court decide that this information is relevant to giving proper judgment on the case and include it in the total body of evidence through the relevant means of evidence, they are already subject to the rules of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Bulgaria will continue to protect the rights and legitimate interests of Bulgarian citizens. We are aware that only the full openness of the actions of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Bulgaria (in compliance with all necessary legal requirements and the interests of the investigation) can restore public confidence in the rule of law and prove that no one is above the law.

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