One year on: Yavor Zlatanov, the missing voice from "The Eight Dwarfs" story, speaks out in an interview with the Anti-Corruption Fund

Last year, the Anti-Corruption Fund’s four-part investigation “The Eight Dwarfs” (Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four; “The Whole Story of the Eight Dwarfs – Everything We Couldn’t Tell in the Movies”) revealed evidence about cases of securing undue influence in judicial conflicts in Bulgaria and involving the law enforcement institutions in attempts at business capture. It also showed evidence of the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office’s improper disposal of confiscated valuables.

It was the story of the Izamet group of companies, the largest elevators manufacturer in Bulgaria, with factories in Sofia and Dupnitsa and an annual turnover of over BGN 20 million. The company was jointly managed by father and son Ilia and Yavor Zlatanov. After a legal dispute between the two over the companies’ assets and management, Iliya Zlatanov turned for assistance in resolving the conflict in his favor to the former head of the Sofia Investigation department, Petyo Petrov, known as “Petyo the Euro.” According to Zlatanov’s allegations, at the meeting in the restaurant “The Eight Dwarfs,” attorney Petrov promised to assist for the prosecution’s swift intervention in his favor. Soon after, Yavor Zlatanov was detained as part of an organized criminal group in a case brought by the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office.

A year later, the missing voice from the story of the “Eight Dwarfs” Yavor Zlatanov speaks about:

– His brutal encounters with the Bulgarian specialized justice system
– his time in custody; and how he barely survived a serious illness that led to disability
– the blackmail to transfer his shares in the family business
– the price at which the Special Court bestows freedom
– what happened to his confiscated valuables, worth more than BGN 5 million
– who was in charge of the Governmental Hospital during the state of emergency;
– what was the role of attorneys, notaries, and the former Prosecutor General Sotir Tsatsarov.