“Partially legal”: the second part of the ACF’s “List of Quick Control” investigation
Was Veselin Denkov, owner of iconic Sofia restaurants, involved in organizing the protests from the last summer? Why do anonymous witnesses mention some jewelry from Dubai? What clues did the Prosecutor’s Office actually have when he was detained the day before the biggest protest on September 2, 2020?
The Anti-Corruption Fund (ACF) published today the second episode of its new investigation, “LIST OF QUICK CONTROL”: The story of Veselin Denkov and the Specialized Judiciary.” The story from the inside of Bulgaria’s specialized judiciary system and the State Agency for National Security continues with a series of testimonies and recorded conversations, shedding more light on the reasons for Denkov’s detention.
Veselin Denkov’s quick release under house arrest in June 2021, a week after the ACF sent journalistic questions to some of the protagonists of the investigation, did not make into an official press release from the Prosecutor’s Office.
However, his detention in September 2020 was extensively covered by the media, friendly towards the Prosecutor General and the government, featuring information which, at that time, could only have come from investigators. In all these publications, his detention is directly related to him allegedly financing the protests and not to being a part of an organized criminal group for usury, as was his later charge. Jewelry belonging to Denkov and Ivayla Bakalova, his partner, was seized in a search as the potential source of funding for the protests. However, the evidence of Denkov’s participation in their organization is mainly the testimony of anonymous witnesses who did not witness anything in person but “heard it said.” Furthermore, it is not clear what the crime of “financing a protest” might ultimately be. The evidence for Denkov’s involvement in an organized criminal group for usury is of similar character.
Denkov’s detention in connection with the organization of the protests becomes clear also from a series of recorded conversations with Yane Yanev, the former anti-corruption adviser to Prime Minister Borissov. According to Yanev, there are two investigations on Denkov at the State Agency for National Security, in which special intelligence means have been applied, and the arrests have been coordinated personally with Prime Minister Borissov.
In the new episode of the investigation, there are stories of Dubai connections and interesting details about Borislava Yovcheva, one of the main protagonists in the “house in Barcelona” story, whose exact location is unknown at the moment. According to Ivayla Bakalova’s testimony, Yovcheva showed up in Dubai and needed “help to settle down” early last year.
The episode “Partially legal” is the second part of the investigation “LIST OF QUICK CONTROL:” The story of Veselin Denkov and the specialized judiciary.”
You can watch the episode here