site.btaProsecutors Close Extortion Case Which Led to Brief Arrest of Ex-PM Borissov and His Finance Minister Goranov in 2022

The Sofia City Prosecution Office has closed an extortion investigation which led to the brief arrest in March 2022 of former Prime Minister and GERB leader Boyko Borissov and his former finance minister Vladislav Goranov. The case was closed for lack of evidence of a crime, said the prosecution office Tuesday.

The case against Borissov and Goranov was based on allegations by former gambling mogul Vassil Bojkov that he was forced to pay a 20% cut of his business to the then Prime Minister and the Finance Minister to get a favourable climate for his gambling business.

Borissov and Goranov have dismissed Bojkov's allegations as downright lies and the prosecution service has found no evidence of any wrongdoing.

Both Bojkov and Goranov were sanctioned by the US for major corruption under the Global Magnitsky Act: the former in June of 2021 and the latter in February 2023. In February 2023, Bojkov was also sanctioned by the UK "for serious corruption and abuse of public institution funds".

Once considered to be the wealthiest Bulgarian with assets worth between BGN 1.5 and 3 billion, Bojkov lost his gambling empire in early 2020 when Parliament outlawed private lotteries, and he was charged with evasion of more than BGN 700 million in gambling licensing fees, money laundering, extortion, bribery, murder, abetting in murder, attempted rape, leading an organized crime group since 2014, trading in influence, and unlawful possession of cultural assets. The businessman claimed that his fortunes changed when Borissov caught wind of his plans to sell his gambling business.

He left the country before the full-scale crackdown against him and spent three years in the United Arab Emirates as Bulgaria unsuccessfully tried to have him extradited. He returned home in August 2023 "to clear his name" and has since been under house arrest. 

Borissov and Goranov were briefly arrested on March 17, 2022 over Bojkov's allegations but were released in 24 hours and a court subsequently ruled that their detention had been unlawful.