site.btaEvelin "Brendo" Banev Surrenders to Police

Internationally wanted Bulgarian Evelin "Brendo" Banev turned himself to the police here on Monday, the Interior Ministry said. He will be handed over to the Justice Ministry's Execution of Punishments General Directorate.

Banev has been absconding from the Bulgarian authorities since his six-year sentence for money laundering was pronounced by Bulgaria’s Supreme Court of Cassation in 2018. He was not found on the territory of the country when the sentence was handed down and was declared wanted. The Sofia City Prosecution Office subsequently issued a European Arrest Warrant for Banev.

The Bulgarian has been sentenced for drug trafficking to 20 years in prison in Italy and 10.5 years in Romania.

He was wanted under Interpol Red Notices for participating in an organized crime group for money laundering in Bulgaria and for setting up an organized criminal group and drug trafficking in Romania.

In September 2021, he was detained in Ukraine and Bulgaria requested his extradition. Banev’s lawyers asked the Bulgarian judicial authorities to let him serve his sentences in Bulgaria, but the request was rejected. According to the Bulgarian magistrates, the request could only be considered if he was on the territory of an EU Member State. Banev was released by a Ukrainian court shortly after his arrest because he had acquired Ukrainian citizenship. His whereabouts had been unknown since then.