site.btaBusinessman Vassil Bojkov, Former State Gambling Commission Officials Indicted

The Sofia City Prosecution Office has brought an indictment against former gambling mogul Vassil Bojkov and officials from the disbanded State Gambling Commission who formed an organized crime group involved in extortion, official misconduct and corruption offences, Prosecutor Angel Kanev told reporters on Tuesday. Bojkov will be prosecuted as an instigator acting in complicity with State Gambling Commission officials who made it possible to charge and collect less than the full amount of fees payable under the Gambling Act. This caused a detriment of over BGN 559 million to the Exchequer.

Ten persons were indicted: Bojkov as mastermind and leader of the group and the rest as participants, some of them in their official capacity in the State Gambling Commission. Two former chairpersons of the Gambling Commission and the businessman's wife are among them, Kanev said.

Former finance minister Vladislav Goranov has been questioned during the proceedings.

The criminal proceedings were instituted by the (now closed) Specialized Prosecution Office in 2019. More than 250 witnesses have been questioned and the indictment comprises about 3,000 pages.

This is not the only case against Bojkov. The Sofia City Prosecution Office recently completed an investigation against him into charges of involvement in an organized group for murder, rape, extortion and incitement to murder.

The businessman left Bulgaria in mid-January 2020 ahead of a full-scale crackdown against him and settled in Dubai, where he spent three years. He was extradited by the United Arab Emirates on August 29, 2023 and arrested on arrival in Sofia. At present, Bojkov is under house arrest with an electronic tag.

In June 2021, Bojkov was designated by the US for major corruption under the Global Magnitsky Act.  In February 2023, he was also sanctioned by the UK "for serious corruption and abuse of public institution funds".

Bojkov recently launched his second political project, the Centre National Movement.