site.btaSupreme Court of Cassation Returns Money Laundering Case Against Evelin Banev to Sofia Appellate Court

Supreme Court of Cassation Returns Money Laundering Case Against Evelin Banev to Sofia Appellate Court

Sofia, May 27 (BTA) - The Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) has
returned the money laundering case against Evelin Banev to the
Sofia Appellate Court, thus repealing Banev's acquittal.
According to the SCC, the second-instance court has allowed
violations that need to be rectified.

Banev and three other persons are accused of participating in a
crime group and sending illegal resources in other European
countries between 2000 and 2005.

Banev was arrested in 2012 in a Bulgarian-Italian law
enforcement operation. In 2013, he received a 20-year prison
sentence in Italy for involvement with an international ring
trafficking in cocaine. On July 11, 2014, the Sofia Appellate
Court acquitted him of money laundering and drug trafficking
charges by reversing an earlier sentence of 7.5 years in prison
imposed on him by a first-instance court.

According to the prosecution, the money "laundered" had been
acquired from drug trafficking. Three more persons were
acquitted within the case. Their lawyers alleged that the
charges were based solely on assumptions.