As Deputy Prosecutor General, Borislav Sarafov Signed Documents While Unaware of Their Contents and Out of Loyalty to His Superior Ivan Geshev

Back when he was Deputy Prosecutor General, the current head of the public prosecution Borislav Sarafov signed documents “while unaware of their contents” and “out of duty and respect to [former Prosecutor General] Geshev”.
This statement was made by an attorney representing Mr. Sarafov in a civil lawsuit tried in the Sofia City Court. The proceedings were initiated by Nickolay Banev and his wife Evgenia, both claiming damages from former Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev and his deputies. Both Mr. Banev and Mrs. Baneva had been under investigation by the prosecution.
The husband and wife, represented by the office of attorney Mihail Ekimdjiev, are demanding BGN 60,000 in compensation for immaterial damages they claim to have sustained because of a letter sent by prosecutors to a large number of international organisations and representatives of the diplomatic corps. Dated 21 December 2021, the letter referred to the couple as “oligarchs”, “considered to be beyond the reach of law enforcement”, and “liable” for crimes. In the text, the leadership of the prosecution claimed it had been subjected to political pressure by the ruling coalition at the time, comprised of We Continue the Change, the Bulgarian Socialist Party, There is Such a People, and Democratic Bulgaria. Prosecutors also highlighted their success in the effort to counteract crime.
During the course of the proceedings, Borislav Sarafov’s attorney – who also represented Plamena Tzvetanova, another one of Ivan Geshev’s deputies – built a very interesting thesis concerning the modus operandi of the public prosecution and the reasons behind the actions of its leadership.
The prosecutors’ attorney claimed that it was demanded of Mr. Sarafov and Ms. Tzvetanova to sign the letter even though there was not enough time for them to familiarize themselves with its contents. As a result, both were unaware of the specific wording describing Mr. Banev and his wife. The prosecutors signed the letter, convinced that – as they had been told – the specific circumstances required that they act in defense of the public prosecution’s independence. The pair considered the act of signing “a duty” and did it because of their “loyalty to the Prosecutor General” since they were aware of the media attacks against him.
Thus, as per Borilav Sarafov’s attorney, in his capacity of Deputy Prosecutor General, Mr. Sarafov signed documents upon the request of the Prosecutor General even though he was unaware of their contents.
“Such behavior is extremely concerning considering the moral and professional qualities required of all magistrates, let alone someone holding one of the top posts within the public prosecution. For almost 18 months, Borislav Sarafov is Acting Prosecutor General and it seems this is a post that he will continue to occupy for the next seven years,” said Andrey Yankulov, senior legal expert at the Anti-Corruption Fund Foundation.
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